A Work of Magic
by Raven's secret-keeper
Summary: Somewhere between loneliness, dedication, and abandonment, a dream team is born for Jess - but this adventure risks becoming a nightmare, with a trainer that hates badges, a ghost that can't use Ghost attacks, and a Murkrow that always hated his flock. And these six have to travel together? And get along? And even SAVE each other? And Sinnoh, too! Good thing they like adventure.
1. Prologue

_Just so you know, this story starts out in three different places and ends up tying the three different stories together like a braid. The ruler marks where the views change to another of the three, and the dotted line marks where the scene changes in time._

_For this story, I kinda mixed the Pokémon Pearl game with some Pokémon episodes… I wasn't sure which source of information to go by so I just did both._

_This is my first Pokémon fanfiction – after a month of my fandom, I finally got around to actually writing one!_

_Enjoy!_

_Read and review,_

**_Raven's secret-keeper_**

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_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Prologue**_

"Mur! Mur! Murkrow, Murkrow!"

A small hovering teal-gray creature let out a small, shrill note of surprise as a flock of black shadows erupted from the trees of Eterna Forest. She followed their movements nervously, her red and yellow eyes watching until they vanished from her sight over the treetops.

Any other time, the moonlit forest would have been her playground. Any other night, she wouldn't have been startled at all, only amused by the Murkrows' surprise.

Any other night, she wouldn't have been alone.

It wasn't really the sudden flight that scared her as much as the tension of waking up in her birthplace, far away from her home and without her trainer.

She tried to figure out the sudden change, her mind reached desperately for logic, she had been trying to understand why she had been alone for the past couple of hours. A small idea arose in the back of her mind, but she hastily pushed it back. It was impossible, her trainer must have cared too much, it couldn't be… but there was no other way… and somehow she had always known she wasn't very special to Marie – her trainer had always preferred the more groomable and cuddly ones like that Evee, or her new Vulpix, and even that Pichu… she never spent that much time with her much rarer Misdreavus, she only owned her because she didn't want to disappoint her daddy, the one who managed to capture the little ghost and ended up giving her to his daughter as a birthday present… Misdreavus had _always_ been a sort of outcast in that home, but it was still her _home_…

She shook her head to clear her mind and began searching the trees for her owner. She became desperate, silently pleading that it wasn't the case, and she looked around anxiously for a few minutes, every second causing her hope to fade away.

And then she realized that there _was_ no other way.

She had been abandoned.

She let out a high-pitched mournful noise and hung her seemingly oversized head. One last spark of hope caused her to pick up her chin and breathe deep and cry out, screaming in her screech-like voice. She held it out as loudly and for as long as she could, until her voice faltered and she couldn't even breathe properly.

Her breaths coming in deep gulps, she tried to squeak out another call. Finding it too hard, she turned around and around desolately and listened for Marie's voice……

…

She hovered, listened, turned listened……

…

The only sound was a slight breeze rustling the trees' branches.

* * *

Elsewhere, another lonely creature gazed up at the night sky wistfully, the frightened and hurried footsteps fading away. It had just been happening too often nowadays… 

Her purple, flowing body and the hat-like shape on her head often gave people the wrong impression. Her kind was deemed unlucky… Typical human behavior, misunderstanding something just because –

Then a thought in the back of her mind brought on a sigh and she bowed her head. It was beyond her control. She was still getting used to living with this new form… A few days ago, she had stumbled on a Dusk Stone, and her inspection of it had caused her to evolve into a Mismagius. She didn't mean to. And if she had known what she was getting herself into, she would have preferred to stay a Misdreavus.

Every sound she let out was like a chant, a curse, and it always seemed to make others suffer. But _why_…? At first it was amusing, watching them yelp, startled, at her sudden appearance, then scream at nonexistent fears – the hallucinations she learned how to cast within two days of her new form. The mischievous nature of being a Misdreavus was still with her.

But then one day, all the fun was drained away from her with a realization.

When she appeared in front of a larger group of Pokémon trainers camping out in the forest, they screamed and backed away like everyone else, only someone whispered something about a Mismagius's appearance meaning bad luck. The others looked tense and nervous, and it was a little confusing for her – she let out one last sound, a chant to leave them with just a few minutes of a headache, and then she vanished and moved away, leaving the trainers to contemplate the quick sighting, and glided back into the trees.

It all made sense to her now – they didn't run because they were that startled, they were afraid. Even as a Misdreavus, people seemed to fear her. And now she knew why. She was labeled misfortunate.

And she realized that maybe it _wasn't_ the sudden appearances or screeching that scared everyone so much, it was a superstition.

She only meant bad luck if she felt like it, after all!

What right did the humans have to just assume that all Pokémon of one species had the same personalities? Wasn't that just a little unfair? Though, come to think of it, most of Mismagius' chants _did_ do something that wasn't exactly lucky for the listener… But there _were_ still incantations that could bring good luck and happiness and fortune… if only they'd give them a ghost of a chance…

She smiled at her own thoughts and word play – it was one of her favorite human sayings. She could usually understand what they were saying and she even tried speech herself – maybe she would've been able to if she hadn't decided it wasn't worth her time.

About a week ago, she had raided a campsite and found a stash of strange items and gave all of them a try, much to the dismay of the trainer, and just to mess with him, she had taken the bag into the trees with her. She brought it back empty of all its contents and chanted for him to have a few good nightmares tonight right before disappearing and leaving him stunned and puzzled. She hid behind a tree, waited, waited, then smiled when he realized that all his things were gone before floating off and leaving him to his losses.

She smiled blissfully as she remembered trying each and every one of his items, each one making her feel different than the previous, but her expression changed almost immediately as she realized that she wasn't helping her reputation.

She began pondering, trying to figure out if the status of her species had been well-earned or not…

* * *

Jess sighed impatiently as she ducked swiftly, barely avoiding being grappled by a dark tree branch. Ever since she had left on this so-called impossible journey, this forest had been her only destination. She _did_ consider Mt. Silver but people weren't supposed to go there, and here was closer to her home than the Lost Tower, so it was the fastest and best option. 

But now that she was there, every single thread of her body and mind alike were tense, alert, and watchful. She was _**so close**__…!!!_ And that only made it more frustrating.

She had switched her sleeping schedule three or four nights ago – she could only find what she was after when the sun was down – luckily the forest was well shaded and the sun wasn't too bright for her to sleep. It was the final step of preparation. She had been getting ready the moment she left home.

On the way to the Eterna Forest, she had been pretty choosy about what she captured - she avoided all ground-types, fighting, and psychics, and even decided against ghosts to some degree; they'd all be useless to her purpose – and she trained all her Pokémon to be physical sweepers; she needed them to be strong in their physical stats, all their special stats could be totally ignored. She had even gone specifically after an electric-type, not that she actually caught one, just so she could bring down the dark/flying Pokémon she had, Murkrow. All her experience screamed that a dark type would be useful, and she just loved that little bird Pokémon… That Pidgey she had captured way back in the beginning was almost a Pidgeot now.

Now if only she could find just one – okay, two – Misdreavus, and a Dusk Stone would be perfect –

"One step at a time," she muttered to herself, "you're lucky if you even find _one_."

Then a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she _did_ find and capture that Murkrow she wanted… All she had to do was keep at it and just keep looking.

A smile slipped onto her face as she remembered her dead-set determination from way back in the beginning. Ever since her 13-year-old self laid eyes on a single picture of Misdreavus, her heart had gone out to the cutest Pokémon she had ever seen. A bit of research brought up and _absolute__** love **_for its entire existence, and even more websites introduced her to the wonders of its evolution, Mismagius – even the fact that they were both rumored to be bad luck gained her interest. Usually things like that were just big misunderstandings or superstition. Her Murkrow hadn't brought any bad luck.

Since that day, capturing a Misdreavus and finding a Mismagius had become her only goals. She didn't want to be the most powerful trainer – fame is so overrated… All she wanted was a Pokémon team that she could really get along with and have a connection with and be truly interested in training. And once she was ready to leave home, she left telling herself "It's for a Misdreavus!!!" And simply thinking the name of either of the two ghost-types brought an eager smile to her face and instilled determination and enthusiasm into her spirit.

Of course, her other Pokémon weren't just pawns in her plan, she really cared for them too – though the Misdreavus would be her instant favorite… She truly loved them and promised herself never to take advantage of them, and she had gotten pretty attached to her Murkrow in the two weeks she had him.

Even though people say Murkrow aren't the best Pokémon to stumble across, it was actually really fun having him around – she had something alive to occupy her as she traveled – until he became hers, her only source of enjoyment was her favorite music. Usually he rode on her right shoulder, with her backpack swung over her left as she walked along. One of his favorite things to do was tease his trainer by pulling on her dyed-black bangs – the rest of her long blonde hair was usually either behind her ears or in a ponytail, so her bangs were so much easier to reach. Jess always laughed at his play, since she knew he didn't get many chance to pull her bangs. She had started all her hair in a ponytail when the trees started catching it, and she would pull her bangs out just so he could enjoy himself.

As Jess looked up into the night sky, she couldn't help the smile on her face. There it was again – that glint in her eyes twinkled brightly, reflecting all the stars' and moonlight combined off her blue-green eyes with the same sheen that the infamous Ash Ketchum had when he thought about winning a Pokémon league. The only difference was their intentions. When Jess was asked if she wanted to be a Pokémon master, she would reply, "Master of a Pokémon," and she'd answer any other questions – if there were any – by saying she was only after one specific Pokémon, and she'd do anything to find it, no matter what it takes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	2. A Dream and a Nightmare

_I would have updated about a week sooner, but I wanted to wait until the episode "Mismagius: Escape from a Nightmare!" aired in Japan so I could make sure it was accurate! And then I was waiting for the screenshots...__ Then it turned out that there wasn't really that much Mismagius in the episode anyways… Especially for what I was really looking for! What a waste of a week, huh…?_

_Well, here it is!_

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

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_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 1: A Dream and a Nightmare**_

The next day, Mismagius hovered among the branches, watching as a couple of young Murkrow bickered over a sparkling gold circle. One finally grabbed it in his beak, leaving the other to try and pry it away. Her expression was one of obvious boredom. Then a few leaves crackled and the birds looked towards the source of the noise before they flew off.

The ghost blinked, then looked around. She spotted the reason for their surprise almost immediately – two humans were walking through the forest, a man and a boy.

Glad to finally have something to do, she made herself invisible and swooped down for a closer look.

The man was staring a large piece of paper. Mismagius hovered over his shoulder and looked at it more closely. There were lines and patches of colors with black dots speckled all over it with small words right next to them.

She flew in front of the man, her motions easily stealthy, and studied his face.

Much to her enjoyment, he looked confused and a little frustrated.

"Uh, Dad?" the younger one asked, and Mismagius looked his way. "Where are we?"

"We're in the Eterna Forest," the man told him confidently. "We should be fine if just keep heading…" He referred to the paper, then pulled out a circular object with a spinning needle and letters around the outside. "Just… this… way!" He pointed with his finger.

Mismagius smiled – if he thought this was going to be easy, he was in for a rude awakening. Making sure to keep them in her sights, she floated high above the trees and searched for the two birds she had seen earlier.

She found one of them – the one that _didn't_ get the ring – on a branch, and she called out to him, making sure he could see her. The high sound caught his attention immediately, and she motioned for him to follow.

The mischievious glint in her eyes definitely got his attention, and he followed her on wing through the sky.

The ghost stopped, and he landed in one of the branches. She nodded her head towards the two humans, and he found them almost instantly. He nodded silently, both of their expression telling each other that this as going to be _fun!_

Mismagius took a split second to become invisible once more, then the Murkrow dive-bombed towards the people, squawking at the top of his voice and startling both of them, then he grabbed at one of the shiny metal objects jangling at the man's belt.

"Hey – what - !?" He began desperately trying to wave the Murkrow away.

"_Dad?!"_

Mismagius appeared in front of the kid, and he yelped. Enjoying his amazement and surprise, she opened her mouth and chanted a short but sweet spell, the first thing any Mismagius knows - the chant of misfortune.

"Ty, we'd better - _Hey!_" Murkrow finally managed to click something away from the collection of objects around the man's belt and fluttered up to the tree. "Give that back!" he yelled.

The bird only put it in his feet and cried back mockingly, "Murkrow, Murkrow!"

"He's _laughing_ at me!" the man moaned.

Mismagius, seeing her chance, used the long tendril-like pieces in her front like arms and grabbed the paper out of the man's hands.

"What the - ?"

She became invisible before he had a chance to see her and watched his amazed face as he followed it around as it glided through the air seemingly unaided. "Hey!"

She dropped the paper and watched as he struggled to grab it out of the air.

"Dad, maybe we'd better go!" the boy begged.

The man finally managed to grab the paper and nodded with a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, we'd better get out of here."

They started off in the direction they were heading before at a run.

Once they were out of sight, Mismagius allowed herself to become visible, since the amusement was over. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she watched them go. Then she realized that she just did it again – fueled the humans' superstitions.

The Murkrow looked up from the object he stole. He tilted his head and made a small note of questioning – she looked like she wasn't enjoying this entertaining trick anymore.

She didn't hear the noise of concern and floated off towards the treetops once more.

The Murkrow blinked after her, then went back to admiring his glittering reward.

* * *

Misdreavus blinked at the darkening trees. The sun had almost set… An entire day had gone by, and not one other life form had crossed her path. Or maybe they did, she just slept through it… Marie had never trained her to be diurnal, so she was still as nocturnal as ever. 

She began aimlessly wandering through the trees, weaving her way in and out of the branches. It was so quiet that she was more careful than usual to not bump into anything.

She whimpered miserably to herself. One minute part of a Pokémon team, surrounded by familiar voices and friendly faces, the next she's lost, all alone in a strange forest engulfed in an all-too-eerie silence with absolutely no companions… She couldn't help comparing it to the monster movies that her ex-owner's father used to watch…

Something rustled the dark branches overhead, and she yelped, her voice coming out even more of a screech than it usually did. She instinctively moved away from the tree as fast as she could – she was sure to put a good distance between herself and the looming shape before looking back. It was gone, but that only made her more uneasy.

Misdreavus whimpered again, then she glanced around anxiously. For the first time since she had found herself in this place, she began feeling fears pressing in on her. She was alone – that meant there was nobody to protect her if a hostile Pokémon, or even another scared creature, attacked her. She knew that she wasn't very powerful, and if a battle broke out she would be defeated easily – and the thought of not being able to be taken to a Pokécenter brought on a shudder. Laying on the forest floor, hurt and helpless, unable to get away from _anything_…

The small ghost couldn't stand it anymore – she succumbed to the instinct she had been trying to suppress and let out a loud, shrill scream.

She had thought that if she was quiet, nothing would find her, but now she had no reason to hope she _wouldn't_ be found.

* * *

She couldn't help wondering if it really _was_ true… Maybe the humans had reason to think she meant bad luck… But then again, it was only fun… If she _really_ wanted to bring misfortune, oh the devastation _that_ would cause… She shuddered at the images of what could happen if she _did_ use those chants. All she ever used were innocent play, like losing a game or misplacing something, never anything that powerful – 

Then a piercing screech-like noise broke through the Mismagius's thoughts. She immediately recognized it as the call of her unevolved form.

A strange joy erupted inside her, and she opened her mouth to call back – until she wondered what she _could_ call back. Nothing that came out of her mouth was ever just a noise - she knew older Mismagius could manage it, but she was far too inexperienced with this new power. What effect would she use, which incantation wouldn't leave the sender with some negative feeling…?

And then she remembered the one she had been practicing – there was always the _lucky_ chant.

She opened her mouth and called back, forming the sounds to the chant she thought would bring the sender of the call what she wanted – a friend. It was obvious in the tone of the screech that it was a lonely female Misdreavus looking for something to keep her company.

She was getting a bit bored with being on her own as well, she realized, maybe that's why she toyed with the humans after the way she thought about it yesterday. It would be nice to have a friend around, especially one of her own species – well, close enough.

She was a bit confused by herself... She had always been content with the lonely impish life of a Mismagius, at least, she _was_ until that day when she had stolen the items from that man... Since then it seemed like her entire existence had been altered. She was anything but content, and her mind was working in ways that were too different for her comfort.

She shook her head and told herself to focus on her calls - one wrong syllable and everything that was going great now could fall apart.

* * *

After a bit more calling out, Misdreavus finally heard a response. She had never heard anything like it, but it still seemed like a friendly species. Excitement flooded into her when she realized that she wasn't going to be alone anymore – even though she was born in these trees, she had been raised in the company of others, and she felt a little nervous out here alone. 

She let out another note, telling the other where she was.

The respondent's notes were coming closer, and soon they stopped altogether. She summed up where the cries had come from, then followed the semi-instinctual feelings she had about which way it was.

She raced ahead in the trees, then let out a screech of excitement as she saw the source of the replies. She had never seen another creature like the newcomer, except once in a book her owner's father had gotten, but nothing was as glorious as meeting another in real life.

Mismagius smiled. Misdreavus smiled back and let out an eager noise of welcome. Mismagius simply nodded her greeting.

The smaller ghost was a little surprised by the stranger's unusual silence – all the others she had ever known tended to be loud and expressive. But this one seemed quieter, more contained… she liked that. And she could tell that she was a lot like herself – it was one of the many instincts any Pokémon possesses – and the way her body billowed even though there was no wind was definite proof that this one would be so much easier to get along with than any other she had ever met – she had to be a ghost-type, too.

Mismagius carefully approached the other.

Misdreavus let out a noise of friendly greeting, and Mismagius took it as a sign that there was no need to be so cautious. The Misdreavus was obviously friendly, and they were nowhere near any caves that would be the cause of territorial behavior.

Mismagius let out a short note, and the other hovering creature blinked at her smooth voice – something about that sound was spellbinding and definitely unique. She made a soft noise in her own voice, expressing her curiosity and relief.

Mismagius nodded, glad to be good luck to _something_. Finally feeling comfortable around this stranger, she looked her up and down. She was young and her bright, alert eyes made it obvious that she was good-natured and definitely friendly.

The little ghost moved behind Mismagius, who was watching her inquisitively, and she put her two front tendril-like strands around Mismagius's hat with a playful screech.

Mismagius smiled at her antics and reached the two longest pieces of fabric in her front and wrapped them around Misdreavus's barely-existent neck just above her pearl necklace.

Misdreavus closed her eyes and laughed three notes. She couldn't help feeling more comfortable around this Pokémon than she had ever felt. All her life, her shriek-like cry had startled other Pokémon, and she had even frightened a couple of others off.

Mismagius was just as joyous. This was the first creature that didn't back away, scared or otherwise afraid of bad luck, and she was the first living thing to ever act friendly to her.

They unfurled each other in unison. Mismagius tilted her head, then gestured for the other to follow her, and they started off in the forest side by side, both content and excited.

It wasn't long before they came to a clearing. Mismagius looked up at the sky, and Misdreavus followed her gaze. Her eyes widened in fascination – the moon was clearly visible in the center of the unobscured sky and every single star was twinkling away. She let out a small noise of wonder – she had never seen the moon so clearly or the stars so bright.

They looked at each other and smiled. Misdreavus murmured a note of thanks to her for sharing this amazing place, and the other nodded.

Misdreavus glanced at the moon again, then she moved closer to Mismagius and snuggled herself closer with a small noise. Her friend smiled tenderly and repositioned herself comfortably. This was truly an amazing night.

Then Mismagius's head shot up, and she began scanning the trees' branches.

Her sudden anxiety made Misdreavus nervous, and she couldn't help glancing around herself. She couldn't find anything and let out a soft note of questioning.

Mismagius simply glanced at her and continued to look around, seeming more tense every moment.

Then she heard a rustle in the branches, and both ghosts' heads shot up.

Dark shapes were moving everywhere in the trees overhead, and they had barely noticed it before they jumped off the branches and shot towards the pair.

Both yelped and tried to evade the attacks, but the shadows came on them from all sides, and they had nowhere else to go.

Their being trapped only made Misdreavus nervous and the fact that their call was the same one that had startled her yesterday didn't help and she froze up, too afraid to do anything, but Mismagius took in a deep breath and let loose a Psywave attack on the feathery aggressors.

The birds were hit by the attack, though it wasn't very powerful, and Mismagius turned to protect her smaller companion, attacking the birds on all sides.

Misdreavus watched Mismagius's determined defense fearfully, but after a few moments it became soothing and reassuring, and she joined in. She took in a breath and let out a piercing Shriek.

Mismagius turned to her, a bit surprised by the little ghost's sudden change of heart, and Misdreavus beamed proudly – she had never actually battled before. The larger ghost smiled and nodded approvingly, then they turned back to their enemies –

A large bird dove at Misdreavus before they had a chance to do anything more.

Mismagius used another attack on it, sending it back a couple of feet. She tried to hit the others, but they seemed to have learned from the fact that a few of their companions had been hit by it and dodged the energies easily. A few even managed to get close enough to strike her with their own attacks.

Now desperately throwing random attacks out at them, she turned after each blast, desperately trying to keep up with them and trying to avoid letting Misdreavus get hurt all at the same time.

The smaller ghost tried to dodge the blows from their beaks as they continued the ambush, but she wasn't anywhere near fast enough to evade the powerful blows. Time after time, their hits landed exactly as they aimed and without fail, no matter how hard Misdreavus tried to move away. She let out a frantic cry of panic and frustration, and calling out to Mismagius for help.

The ghost turned her back on the birds to look at her friend, her mind racing for a solution. Misdreavus was terrified, and she couldn't hold them off for much longer – there had to be some way to escape these -

The split second was all they needed to catch her off-guard and land all the attacks they could on her back.

She let out a startled note and turned back to them.

Misdreavus let out yet another noise of desperation as they maintained the onslaught as violently as ever, and Mismagius called back shortly, telling her to hang in there, then she fired another Psywave.

Misdreavus tried an Astonish attack – it didn't have too much of an effect on them, and it wasn't strong enough to make them flinch. Then she squealed loudly as an intense pain shot through her – one of them had hit her on the back with more force than the other strikes combined.

Mismagius turned immediately to her, and the pain in her voice and the sheer volume was enough to force her to realize that there was no way they could possibly win over more than three dozen of these birds… They had to get away…

But when she tried fighting her way through the flock, she was only hurt more than ever.

There was only one way they could get through this – the birds had to leave them alone.

But how…?

It didn't take long for her to think of an answer.

She opened her mouth and began casting a hallucination on the birds' minds. They would soon be seeing a lot of hungry, hunting Persian and Purugly jumping out from the trees – cat creatures, what bird would be stupid enough to await their claws?

As she chanted in the sounds of their growling, the birds looked towards the trees. One suddenly let out a horrified cry and flew away. The others followed its gaze and "saw" what had caused his alarm, and soon they were gone.

Misdreavus whimpered weakly, then she surrendered to the pain and heaviness in her body. She let herself fall out of the air and land on the ground.

Mismagius glided to her side. She was hurt, there was no way to ignore it. She muttered a quiet apology, her soft voice dripping with regret and desperation for her friend's pain. Her mind was reaching for ways to sooth her, what could she do…?

She opened her mouth and began chanting what she hoped to be a healing charm.

* * *

Jess looked up into the starry night sky. 

"So another day flies by, huh?" she asked her Murkrow as she stroked the soft feathers under his beak. He closed his eyes pleasurably and made a soft gurgle noise in his throat.

"Yeah, you like that, don'cha?" she crooned affectionately.

Then a faint and distant high-pitched noise startled both of them, and Murkrow nearly fell off of Jess's arm as she stood up too swiftly.

"Sorry, Murkrow – What was – Wait… There's no way - !" A smile fought its way onto her face as she realized what the sound would be, then a bit of desperation and concern arose in her mind as she reran the sound in her head and realized that the tone the noise had sounded desperate, maybe even hurt.

"Murkrow," she said, now looking at the bird with excitement in her gaze, "can you go and see what it was?"

He nodded his head and cried, "Murkrow!" before taking off and flying through the trees.

Jess waited anxiously, her anticipation rising every moment she waited for him to come back with news of what he saw.

Finally, after what felt like hours, she heard his wings flapping down and he landed on her shoulder.

"What was it? Was it a Misdreavus?" she asked swiftly. There was absolutely no way to mistake that sound.

The bird nodded with an affirming noise. "Murkrow, Mur!"

"There was more?!" she asked. "Another Misdreavus, or - ?"

"Mur, Murkrow," he responded.

Jess's eyes lit up. "Something else?! Show me!" she begged, and he nodded and took off once more, landing in a tree and calling out for her to follow him. She did it without hesitation, running with all her strength.

Finally Murkrow lighted on a branch, and Jess looked into the clearing.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw _both_ of the Pokémon she desperately wanted. She didn't even bother with her Pokédex – there was no mistaking the creatures of her dreams. Still, she couldn't believe it. Both of them, together, one right next to the other -

Then she stopped herself and her ecstatic thoughts. That's a Mismagius, right…? What if it was just casting an illusion…?

_No,_ she thought, _that didn't sound like a chant, it was definitely a "screech-like cry..." That was __**definitely**__ a Misdreavus – I've never heard any other Pokémon make a sound like __**that!**_

She looked at the two ghosts again in amazement, then she gasped softly when she realized that one of them, the Misdreavus, was lying on the ground. Her eyes widened as she realized exactly how hurt it looked.

The Mismagius suddenly turned and looked at Jess for hardly a moment before she floated up to her and opened her mouth –

Knowing the extent of a Mismagius's powers, Jess studdered swiftly and a bit nervously, "I-I want to help!"

Mismagius gave her a confident look that told her they had it all under control.

Jess looked around her flowing body and blinked at the Misdreavus. "But… It looks so hurt though…Please, just let me try something. I won't hurt it, I promise."

Mismagius looked unconvinced, she had seen what humans tended to do to Pokémon, but before she could do anything, Jess darted to the fallen Misdreavus and Murkrow flew in her way as she tried to head his owner off. He began explaining Jess's unusual Pokémon-related habits as his owner kneeled by the little creature and dug through her bag.

Finally finding the berry she was looking for, she picked up the Misdreavus tenderly. A strange feeling spread through her; she knew she was actually accomplishing her dreams, everything was taking shape – she pushed that thought aside and focused on the injured Pokémon in her arms. "Here," she said gently, holding the berry up to her mouth. "Eat this. It'll make you feel better."

Misdreavus looked up at her with her eyes only part open and blinked, then she made a small noise.

"Ohhh…" Her heart melted at the weak sound. "Here, please eat it," she begged gently.

The little ghost's eyes opened again, and she finally bit into it.

Jess watched in fascination and concern as she chewed the tiny bite and swallowed it before taking another. It was wondrous and confusing – Misdreavus had followed her advice so easily, weren't Pokémon supposed to be distrusting of humans in their first encounter…? Especially ghosts – they're so untamed most of the time… and this was a Misdreavus, too, known for their mischief and the fact that they're so unruly at first… so why was this one just letting her handle her like a Plusle or an Evee…? Was it because she knew she was only helping…?

With each bite, the ghost's condition improved just a little bit. Once Misdreavus finished, Jess held her up for a closer look and smiled contentedly. Her red-and-yellow eyes were open and alert, and she wasn't as tense and weak as she had been a few moments ago. Not to mention she smiled and let out a joyous noise of thanks.

Jess laughed. "You're welcome!"

Mismagius looked around Murkrow before hovering over to where Jess was letting Misdreavus into the air.

Misdreavus looked at Mismagius and spoke a couple of notes in her high voice, and Mismagius didn't look very joyful or convinced. Misdreavus blinked at her, then she let out another note, sounding curious and questioning.

"Murkrow!" Jess's Pokémon called, and the larger of the two ghosts looked at him and tilted her head. "Mur, Murkrow, Murkrow!"

The smaller ghost smiled and made a sound of agreement with a slight nod.

Jess blinked, a bit confused – she was still trying to figure out what they were saying. All she could decide on was that Murkrow's comment had been reassurance.

The two others looked at Mismagius, and she bowed her head.

"Is anything wrong?" Jess asked, a bit of concern trickling into her voice.

"Murkrow!"

Mismagius lifted her head and tilted it again.

Misdreavus let out a noise that sounded confident.

Murkrow turned to his owner. "Mur, Murkrow," he explained.

Jess's expression lit up – if Misdreavus had been with a human before, than she was probably at least a little trained.

"Murkrow, Krow," he added.

"You're kidding! She would?!" Her excitement was building every moment, and now that he said Misdreavus would be willing to come with her, everything just felt so impossibly perfect.

Then she realized Mismagius's behavior. "What about you?" she asked the larger ghost. "Would you be willing - ?" She stopped herself, realizing her expression. "What's wrong? I won't force you."

"Murkrow, krow, krow," he told the skeptic.

Mismagius seemed to be thinking, and Murkrow added another couple of words.

"So, what do you say?" Jess asked, grateful for Murkrow's support – she finally figured out that he was trying to convince her to come.

Misdreavus made a questioning sound, and all looked towards the purple Pokémon.

She looked between Jess and Murkrow, her eyes inspecting them, then she turned to the Misdreavus and spoke three short notes.

Jess's heart leapt in amazed joy and enthrallment at the eerie, magical quality of her voice, but before she could let her mind settle on the fact, Misdreavus turned to Murkrow and asked it something – it seemed to be important, both ghosts were watching him intensely, but he answered with ease – a relief to Jess. The tone he replied in made it obvious that it was a "no," though Jess wasn't sure what he said no to…

Mismagius blinked, then nodded.

"Murkrow!" the bird called happily, and Jess leapt into the air with an enthusiastic _"Yes!"_ Then she nearly ran over to the ghosts and wrapped one arm around each of their necks. Mismagius seemed surprised, but Misdreavus squealed an excited sound. "Welcome to the team!" Jess cried triumphantly. Murkrow flew onto her head to complete the moment, and Jess laughed for all she was worth.

"I'll never put you two in a Pokéball!" she told the two newest members. "Don't worry, Murkrow, you can stay out and stand watch over them," she added, not wanting to single out her other companion. "I know how much you guys don't like it there," she mused.

Murkrow nodded and pulled on her ponytail.

Jess laughed, then sighed triumphantly. She looked to her right as Misdreavus snuggled closer to her body with a quiet noise of comfort.

Mismagius watched her younger companion, then looked up at the night sky.

Jess followed her gaze. "It's absolutely amazing here," she said softly. "Every single one of the stars is visible, and the moon is so bright but the trees are still so dark... Not to mention I found three of the best Pokémon in the world here!"

Misdreavus yawned, and Jess's heart melted away. "You're so cute," she muttered as the small creature shifted into a more comfortable position.

Mismagius watched Jess's face as she gazed lovingly at her friend. It was obvious she really did care and wasn't just catching Pokémon to win contests or battles... and Misdreavus had so willingly accepted Murkrow's offer to come home with this person… Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living with a trainer… Well, if things started to get out of hand, she could always find a way out…

Jess sighed contentedly, then looked up at the sky again. "The sun's rising," she muttered, just now realizing exactly how tired she really was. All this excitement was exhausting! "Time for bed." She unwound her arm from Misdreavus's pink-tipped hair and pulled her sleeping bag off of her backpack, then took her arm other off of Mismagius's neck and put the blankets on the leafy ground.

Misdreavus watched sleepily from her place in the air, and Jess looked up at her once she had her pillow out of her bag and was all ready to sleep. The ghost's eyes lit up when Jess gestured that she could come down here with her – Marie had _never_ asked the little ghost to sleep next to her, it was always the others – and she eagerly glided down and nestled herself against her new trainer's side. Jess readily wrapped her arm around the one Pokémon she had always dreamt of, and then she looked up at Mismagius. "You okay up there?" she muttered, and Misdreavus looked up as well.

The ghost blinked hesitantly, then moved closer to the ground and settled on Misdreavus's other side.

Jess smiled, then watched as Murkrow flew onto a cozy branch and stepped close to the tree's trunk before putting his head beneath his wing to sleep.

She lowered her head to the pillow and closed her eyes before whispering, "Goodnight everyone."

* * *

_Dreams come true isn't the only point to this story - that's how it started, but I couldn't let this story go, I just kept writing for it... With the summary, it seems like this is all there is... But no! I have plenty more coming up; a new sort of problem - half typical and half not, and lots of Pok_é-_action coming up once I get past the second mini-story!_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	3. Beginning

_Enjoy!_

_Read and review,_

**_Raven's secret-keeper_**

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 2: Beginning**_

Jess woke up around sunset, and after a good stretch, she gently rustled Misdreavus awake.

The tiny sound of her yawn was enough to cause Mismagius to lazily lift one eyelid halfway.

"Hey guys," Jess greeted, and Murkrow rustled his feathers at her voice and lifted his head before blinking sleepily.

Jess had to look around at the two ghosts to reassure herself that it wasn't just a dream. "I still can't believe it… I have one Misdreavus, and another, and she's already evolved into a Mismagius – I just killed three birds with one stone!!!"

Murkrow gave her a darkly disapproving look.

Jess saw her mistake immediately. "Sorry, Murkrow, heh… Alright… Let's see what you two newbies can do."

Murkrow stretched his wings, feet, and tail, then began grooming, and Misdreavus extended her free-form body a bit before she began hovering a couple of feet off the ground, looking up at her trainer.

Mismagius just closed her eye and shifted a bit, not too happy about being woken up, and Jess last sentence didn't help.

Jess just shrugged at her - she had heard that wild Misdreavus were hard to train, and this Mismagius was still a little young - of _course_ she'd be hard to deal with. "So, are you ready to train?" she asked the smaller ghost.

She blinked and looked at her curiously, then her eyes brightened and she rose up to Jess's eye-level with an eager noise.

"Okay then! Murkrow, will you help us find out her strength?"

The bird fit in one more quick stretch of his wings and fluttered onto Jess's outstretched arm.

"Brace yourself, Misdreavus!" she joked.

The little ghost suddenly looked nervous, and Mismagius looked up warily and alert.

"Don't worry! I won't let him hurt you! I just want to find out how powerful you are. So get ready, but don't be too uneasy, okay? Try your best and you'll do fine."

Misdreavus tilted her head.

"Alright, come on. Murkrow, go!"

The bird lifted off her arm and landed across from Misdreavus on the other side of the clearing.

"Let's try a Faint Attack, but go easy on her!"

He nodded with an understanding "Mur!" and moved around so swiftly there seemed to be many different transparent copies of him, then Misdreavus barely had time to yelp before he charged at her.

Though he was careful to not slam into her with all his force like he normally would, she still let out a squeal of pain and whimpered as she descended to about a foot above the ground.

"I said take it easy!" the trainer scolded as she ran to help the weakened ghost.

"Mur Murkrow!" he cawed back defensively and indignant.

"Then why is she so hurt...?" She sighed. "I'm sorry, Misdreavus, I didn't know it would be so hard on you… Hang in there, I have something that'll help..." She gave her one last sympathetic glance before going to her bag and pulling out a small bottle of soda pop and taking it over to her. "Here, drink this." She put it up to her tiny mouth and made sure she drank it all. "There. Better?"

The Pokémon nodded.

"Good. Well... Let's see how strong you are - No, Murkrow, I'm going with Pidgeotto on this one. She's weak against Dark Pokémon, and strong against Normal-type, so she _should_ have an advantage... Pidgeotto, go!" She pulled out a Pokéball off her waist and tossed it into the air. It split open and a bright, red ray of light shot out. It materialized into the brown and white bird known as Pidgeotto at the other side of the clearing, and the two Pokémon turned to face each other.

"Misdreavus, let's see if you can pull off Perish Song."

The ghost looked over at her trainer, a confused expression on her face.

"Okay, that one doesn't come until later, that's fine… Let's try Psybeam!"

Misdreavus tilted her head and blinked, looking even more puzzled.

"Okay, you don't know it… Shadow Ball?" she asked hopefully.

Misdreavus blinked a couple more times.

"Confuse ray? _Astonish?"_ she pleaded desperately.

The hovering creature shook her large head.

Jess blinked. Then she pulled out her Pokédex. "What level _are_ you at?" she muttered, ignoring the entry on Misdreavus – she knew it all hands down. She seemed too old to not know _Astonish_, one of the simplest and first attacks a Misdreavus could learn – it came around at level 17… Then she nearly fell over when it told her skill level. "Level _**8**__?!"_ she asked incredulously.

The Misdreavus looked sheepish and embarrassed. She muttered a few high notes timidly, and Murkrow replied with a note of sympathy, then translated for the trainer – she had said her owner never spent much time with her.

"How long did she have you?"

She replied, and Jess yelped, "A few _years?!_ What kind of trainer _was_ your owner?!" She sighed in amazement. "Well, _I'll_ train you better than that. I _promise_."

It was a bit of a relief for her to see that her words actually seemed to matter to the little ghost.

Mismagius, who had been watching this whole battle business quizzically, couldn't help noticing her friend's embarrassment and stretched her flowing body a bit. She moved her neck until the crick was gone, and – muttering a curse on all humans under her breath, why did power matter, and then brainwashing the Pokémon – she glided to Misdrevaus's side. She spoke to her in two short, reassuring notes, telling her it didn't matter in a tender tone.

Even Jess knew basically what she said. "Doesn't make that much of a difference to me," she said, and both ghosts looked up at her – Misdreavus listening and a little comforted, and Mismagius looking at her with narrow eyes and a disapproving frown.

"You know, you're still the cutest thing I've ever seen," she told the smaller one with a smile.

Misdreavus smiled back and blushed shyly.

"_Murkrow!"_

Jess laughed. "You're still cute, don't worry!"

"Pidgo-pidgo?"

Jess looked at the other bird. "You're my pretty bird. I'll bet any Pokémon breeder would love to use you – your feathers are so beautiful!" Then she turned to Mismagius. "And you – You're just plain awesome."

The ghost looked taken aback and surprised.

"What, you've never heard a compliment before?"

She bowed her head, a different expression on her face.

"You – _Ohhhhh…_" She suddenly remembered that few people saw all Pokémon the same way she did. "Oh, no, I - don't worry… I don't think you're creepy."

Mismagius looked up, her expression wondering if she really meant it. "I swear," her new owner promised, and she let herself nod and allowed a bit of relief to show on her face. She was still wary of this human, but she couldn't help feeling grateful for the sense of belonging… and she _did_ heal Misdreavus…

Jess smiled – it wasn't hard to tell that Mismagius was letting up a bit. "So, what about you?"

Mismagius tilted her head.

Jess held up her Pokédex and waited for it to tell her the level – 17.

She looked at Mismagius, inspecting her for a minute, and shrugged. "Okay, sure."

Mismagius looked half offended, half startled and confused.

Jess noticed immediately. "No, no - ! It's a _good_ thing! Your level looks about right for your age in the wild – well, at least what age you _seem_ to be… You're not too young, are you?"

The ghost shook her head hesitantly.

"I'm not doing too well with this whole trainer thing, _am_ I…"

Mismagius shook her head.

She sighed. "Well, at least I know what I'm doing… as far as your - "

Mismagius suddenly looked offended, then disappeared, became invisible, and Jess stopped herself. "Okay, that came out wrong – Mismagius… Where are - ?"

The ghost glided to behind Jess, then she let out a loud cry – Jess jumped and yelped.

Misdreavus laughed, then smiled mischievously, and she made herself invisible as well.

Jess groaned and turned around. "So much for being trained, huh?" she muttered, a smile slipping onto her face. The impish nature of these two had always been one of the reasons she loved them so much.

Misdreavus's voice sounded in front of Jess – she must have moved next to Mismagius – and she began mumbling to the companion.

"Guys?" Jess asked softly once she was quiet again. She began looking around, eyes raking the trees for any sign of the two mischief-makers. The silence enveloping the forest was all too telling.

It was quiet for at least five slow minutes. Murkrow tilted his head, and Jess turned to look up at him. "You heard what they said, didn't you? Any chance you'd be willing to tell me?"

Just as he opened his beak, two loud, piercing sounds shattered the silence like glass.

Murkrow nearly fell off his perch in surprise, and Jess recoiled from the pitch of the shriek. "Turn it down please!" she yelled, her voice tight from trying to endure the sound. _"Please?!"_

Murkrow made a few incoherent sounds, then he began cawing desperately for them to shut up.

After a few more minutes of enjoying their torture, Mismagius closed her mouth and Misdreavus followed suite.

Jess blinked and let her hands down from her ears. The silence seemed almost as loud and sharp as the noises, and the ringing in her ears didn't help. "Wow," she finally managed to say. "Never heard _that_ one before… Heh... Nice Screech, Misdreavus."

The two ghosts allowed themselves to become visible again, and Mismagius looked at the smaller ghost, and they nodded to each other. Then Mismagius floated over to Murkrow and spoke to him in a few short notes of her unusual voice, nodding once towards Jess before going on. Murkrow shook his head. She muttered a note of questioning, and he responded quietly. The ghost made a noise of discontentment, then closed her eyes and whispered to him. He seemed startled, then she looked at him and he nodded with a soft caw of understanding.

Mismagius nodded and moved back to Misdreavus, who was watching her with a bit of confusion.

Jess could tell she was discontent, though she had always known entertainment had been one of the things that would make either of the two ghosts smile –

Murkrow fluttered down to her shoulder. "Mur, Murkrow Murkrow," he told her.

"I _know_ she's upset! But why - ?"

"Mur, Murkrow."

"Really? I didn't mean to make her feel like I _own_ her… I wasn't even talking about controlling her."

Misdreavus tilted her head, then turned back to her friend and uttered a small noise of questioning.

The larger ghost just turned away.

"Hey, Mismagius," Jess called out to her, "I wasn't trying to say that I knew how I was going to _control_ you. I mean it. Being an owner isn't about "owning" Pokémon, brainwashing them, forcing them to do your bidding… It's about being friends and getting stronger _together_, not forcing your Pokémon to push themselves past the limit and practically kill themselves just to be better than the other ones."

Mismagius lifted her chin and uttered a few notes to them, her tone making it obvious she was unmoved. Then she began moving soundlessly through the trees, away from the clearing.

Misdreavus cried out desperately and tries to explain that humans weren't the cruel monsters she seemed to think they were, but Mismagius simply called back with a single note and became invisible.

The smaller ghost tried to call back, but her voice died in her throat in the hopelessness of the sound.

Jess watched Misdreavus, her heart breaking at the little creature's disappointment and desolation. She hovered in the air for a while, her entire body seeming to droop with her loss as she watched the trees where Mismagius had been just a moment ago. She turned after what felt like hours, and Jess opened her mouth, then realized that she couldn't think of anything to say and closed her mouth.

"Murkrow," the black bird said, his tone even but faintly undertoned with mockery.

"Oh, shut up!" Jess called without giving him the satisfaction of turning to him. Then she sighed. Misdreavus's eyes were just so heartbroken, she couldn't hold her anger together no matter how much he rubbed in her face. The way she just stared at the ground… "Ohhh, come here," she said gently, running up to her and throwing her arms around her neck and bringing her down against her body.

The ghost whimpered softly.

Jess sighed. "So, what exactly did she say before she stormed off like that?" she asked the bird, still refusing to look at him.

"Mur… Murkrow, Murkrow krow…"

"_What?!_ Why would she think I was trying to manipulate her?!"

He shrugged his wings. "Murkrow, krow krow," he told her.

Jess turned to him, involuntarily shaking Misdreavus. "Sorry," she apologized swiftly at her small noise of surprise, then said to Murkrow, "So, she's never going to give humans a chance?"

"Murkrow murkow."

"It is _not_ all my fault!"

Jess could have sworn that he was smiling as he teased her further. "Mukrow, Murkrow, Murkrow!"

"Stop it! I'm not the one who – "

"_Muuuur_krow!"

"I am _not_ the one who – "

"Murkrow."

"No I'm not!!!!"

He flew down onto her shoulder, then whispered his name into her ear – his tone as mocking as ever.

"Oh, you – !"

Jess took her arm from Misdreavus to reach out for him, but he flew away and landed right where he was before. He called at her tauntingly again.

Jess growled. "You're lucky you can fly, or I'd come up there and - !"

_"Misdreavus!"_

Both the arguers turned to the little ghost. She looked at them sadly, then muttered a few more notes much more quietly.

Jess sighed again. "Yeah, you're right... Sorry, Murkrow..."

"Murkrow Murkrow," he replied, sounding anything _but_ remorseful.

Jess shot a glare over her shoulder. "You see why I get so mad at this bird?" she asked the Misdreavus. "I apologize, and all he does is tell me it's still my fault… I'm not the one who turned her against humans… am I…?"

The ghost shook her head.

Jess sighed, extremely relieved. "Nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks… I'm really not?"

Misdreavus shook her head again, this time with a couple of noises.

Jess nodded, then wrapped her arms around the ghost again. "I didn't know she would take it that personally... I know how close you two were… I've never seen a Mismagius staying with another hurt Pokémon before, she must have been something really special..."

Misdreavus nodded, then turned her head away. Jess brought her closer to her body, and Misdreavus willingly snuggled even closer.

"You're going to miss her a lot, _aren't_ you…"

She nodded again.

Jess didn't have the heart to ask how long she had known her or even if she thought she would return. Instead, she just whispered, "I hope she comes back…"

Misdreavus closed her eyes tightly. Jess somehow knew that if she could cry, her tears would be like a flashflood.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Yeah, I know that Misdreavus's attacks wouldn't affect Pidgeotto, but Jess doesn't know that, she only knows about ghosts._

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	4. The Confusion in Pain

_Sorry this update took ten times longer than usual… I had almost the entire chapter typed up on a flashdrive, but then I lost it at school… I'm still hoping I'll find it, but I had to totally retype it… But the new-n-improved version is a lot longer and more sentimental, so that's a good thing, right? I hope it was worth the wait!_

_I was originally going to post this as a dramatic Halloween chapter, but it turned out to be a special Christmas chapter, so… Happy holidays! _

_Enjoy!_

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 3: The Confusion in Pain**_

It was quiet for quite a while in the forest. Even the wild creatures had stopped their nightsong, as if they were all mourning for Misdreavus's loss, and even Murkrow eventually fluffed his feathers a bit uncomfortably.

Then the distant sound of thunder crashed in the skies.

Misdreavus let out an uneasy whimper, and Jess looked up from her embracing the ghost, just then noticing exactly how unnatural the silence had been – and then she noticed that every star in the sky seemed to have disappeared, hidden behind the heavy, deep-purple clouds.

A raindrop fell from the sky and hit Murkrow right on the sensitive nare of his nose, and the soft note of surprise he let out startled Jess out of her entrancement.

Jess blinked at him, then up at the sky. More tiny bead of water were falling from the dark clouds above now.

"We need to get out of here," Jess told them, and then she took off into the forest at a jog. "It looks like it's not a good night to sleep under the stars…"

A flash of lightning blanketed the forest in its white glow, and more thunder crashed in the skies above them. Just as the last echoes of the sounds faded away, the clouds began releasing bucketfuls of water at a time upon them, sending Jess into a desperate gate of speed.

Misdreavus let out a soft note of worry.

"Mur-mur, krow-krow?" the black bird asked, his voice shaking with her heavy steps.

"We need to find somewhere safe, out of the rain…" Her voice trailed off as she began scanning the trees – It wasn't long before she spotted a suitable tree branch.

Jess jogged over to it and took a moment to catch her breath. Misdreavus let out a soft note of discomfort as a soft gust of wind blew a few of the raindrops onto her, and Jess muttered, "Hold on, I've just gotta… Stay here for a sec…" She let Misdreavus into the air by the tree's trunk and bent down to dig through her bag.

The moment she had the tarp in her hand, she threw it over the branch. She watched as both of her Pokémon rushed into the crude tent, and almost laughed as Misdreavus let out a noise of obvious relief.

"Okay," she sighed to herself, drawing her coat around herself just a little tighter. Then she picked up one of the yellow stakes and began trying to get it into the ground.

Another chilling wind blew, and Jess felt a shiver run down her spine as the stake slipped. She grabbed it tighter and tried again, this time with a more powerful stroke, but it was a futile attempt – the ground was just too muddy from this rain.

Jess sighed to herself in frustration, then began trying to force it in any way she could – still with no results.

"Mur…?"

Jess turned to the tarp and saw Murkrow's head poking out of the tent, Misdreavus looking around him, curiously.

"These s-stupid things won't g-g-go in."

The bird fluttered over, then gave the situation a quick look-over before he grabbed the stake in his foot and began pecking forcefully at the head.

Once it was secure in the ground, he stepped back and lifted his beak proudly.

Jess blinked at his handy work. "Oh, wow… Nice… I never would've though about using Peck on those… Any chance you'd be willing to do the others?"

"Mur!" He fluttered to the other stakes and finished the job.

Once he was done, he looked up at Jess. She smiled, then gestured towards the warm shelter. "Come on in!"

Murkrow immediately shook himself, spraying crystal shards of water around the tent.

"Drea?" the ghost asked, and Jess smiled.

"Yeah, he's a smart birdy!"

Murkrow looked up and puffed out his chest feathers proudly.

"And the best part is we managed to not kill each other this time."

Murkrow made a huffy noise and went back to his grooming.

Jess kneeled by her bag and pulled out the blankets. "Anyone else freezing their toes off?" She held up a thin but warm and fuzzy blanket, and Misdreavus let out a noise of agreement. Jess smiled, then spread out the blankets and put one down in front of Murkrow.

He eagerly stepped into it and began moving the blankets around with his beak to form a sort of nest.

Jess muffled a laugh, and he looked over and thrust his beak up indignantly.

Misdreavus tilted her head quizzically at Jess, and the trainer just smiled back at her.

Murkrow muttered something softly before he sat down comfortably and began grooming himself.

Jess couldn't hold back another breath, and she began laughing hysterically.

"_Murkrow?!_" the bird squawked, his dignity obviously injured.

After a few moments, Jess finally managed to calm herself down enough to say, "It's just that – ! You look _so_ much like a Honchkrow!"

Murkrow's expression became confused, and Misdreavus squealed a couple of notes in a slightly concerned and extremely puzzled voice.

Jess sighed jovially. "Okay, well, you know – or, well, you _should_ know – "

The bird let out a huffy noise and flashed his hackles – if there was one thing he hated being compared to, it was one of those arrogant, lazy birds that call themselves worthy of dominance.

Jess didn't even notice his degradation and went on. "– how Honchkrow are always grooming themselves and sitting in their nests and acting like they own the place…"

Misdreavus glanced at Murkrow, then let out a soft noise to get the trainer's attention.

Jess glanced at her, then back at Murkrow and sighed – he had turned his head away from her and was fluffing up his chest feathers.

"Oh, Murkrow, you just look like you're trying to evolve all too soon!"

The bird shifted his position and looked at her indignatly.

"You don't plan on evolving any time soon, do you?"

Murkrow opened his beak, then stopped and had to think it over. After awhile, he shook his head.

"Good, then I'm glad you're still my cute little Murky."

She smiled at him contentedly, then left him to his confusion – most trainers tended to rush their Pokémon into evolution and they all knew it – and she began setting up her own blankets. Then she closed the tent's entrance tightly to help retain their heat and make it just a bit warmer in there.

Once she set her head down on the pillow and closed, Misdreavus hesitantly glided over and nestled herself under the blankets. Jess looked down at her, a bit startled.

The ghost blinked, her expression half disappointed and half apologetic, and she began to move away –

Jess laughed softly. "No, it's okay Misdreavus, really!" And she shifted her position to make room and wrapped her arms around the little ghost.

Misdreavus willingly snuggled even closer. Then she blinked a little sadly. It was so nice to actually be welcomed within a foot of her trainer… Marie would _never_ have let her sleep next to her…

She shook her head gently to clear away those thoughts, hopefully for_ever,_ as she remembered where she was… She shifted her position and felt Jess move just a bit to accommodate for the change, and she smiled to herself and let out a soft noise of comfort. There was no reason for her to let herself be upset about Marie anymore… Those days were over.

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The next night, Jess opened her eyes to see Murkrow grooming himself yet again. She sat up with a wide yawn and began thoroughly stretching.

"Murkrow _Mur_krow?" the bird asked playfully.

Jess let her arms fall to her side let out another yawn, then replied jovially, "It's not _my_ fault I'm a sleepy-head."

Then she heard a sound from outside that made her look up and immediately forget about the bird: Misdreavus's high, screeching voice called out desperately from just outside the tent.

"Hold on Murky," Jess said as she got up and went out to her.

"Misdreavus?" she asked softly as she emerged into the misty forest. It was drizzling lightly, and it was only faintly detectable, but the small amount of water falling down from the sky was made up for by the amount of mist shrouding the ground. The trainer wrapped her arms around the ghost's neck lightly and held her close.

The creature whimpered softly, mournfully.

Jess sighed. "I know…" _She was calling for Mismagius… _"Oh, Misdreavus, it's not really safe to be out here in this weather…"

Misdreavus muttered a few high-pitched, heart-broken notes wistfully.

"I know you want to see her, but I don't think – " Jess stopped herself and immediately took another path. "You're shivering… Come on, we should get you inside…" She held the small ghost just a bit closer as she walked into the tent.

Once they were safe in the crude but warm shelter, Jess let Misdreavus into the air and watched her sympathetically. She couldn't help noticing that Misdreavus was drooping a little as she drifted closer to the floor…

She blinked sadly, knowing exactly how and why Misdreavus was feeling so desolate, then she sighed softly and went over to her bag. "You guys hungry?"

Murkrow fluttered over to her shoulder with an eager, "Mur-mur-murkrow!"

Jess smiled and chuckled a bit. "Yeah, you're _always_ hungry, _aren't_ you?"

Murkrow nodded so fervently, his entire front half bobbed with his head. "Krow, krow!"

Jess laughed. "Okay, _okay!" _She began digging through the bag, pulling out three bowls, a small pan, a handful of leaves sealed in a Ziploc bag, and a pile of stones. "Oh no…" She suddenly looked a bit dreading and began ransacking her bag's other contents.

"Murkrow?"

Jess sighed. "It's just… Wow, I didn't realize we were so low on supplies."

"Murkrow murkrow?!"

"Don't complain, I fed _you_ the last Pokémon food _yesterday!"_

He shrugged his feathered shoulders and let out a small noise of agreement.

The trainer sighed. "Looks like we have to go to the next town we come across… Sorry, Misdreavus, but we can't wait that long for Mismagius to come back… We're running out of berries, potions, food, water, _everything…_"

The ghost whimpered softly and bowed her head.

"I'm really sorry, but we can all starve if we wait around here too long… She can find us if we leave… right…?"

Misdreavus was silent.

Jess sighed, then walked over to the entrance and laid the stones down in a small circle.

"Mur murkrow…?" the bird asked as she unzipped the plastic bag and began laying the leaves down.

Jess chuckled. "Hey, if you're gonna camp out, I say you do it the right way!"

"Krow…?" He glanced around uneasily.

"Don't worry, this thing won't catch fire," Jess reassured him. "Besides, I'm doing this by the entrance, and it's _much_ colder outside… Most of the heat's gonna go outside, and the smoke's going with it."

"Mur… Murkrow?"

"I'm going to use a stone."

Murkrow tilted his head, eager to know exactly how she could use an ice-cold rock to make a burning fire.

"Just watch. You take two of the stones, strike 'em together _juuust_ right, and…" She took two palm-sized, flat rocks and struck them together with a swift, deliberate stroke, just above the pile, and a spark flew off the bottom rock and jumped into the leaves. A small flame soon began glowing and growing within the confines of the stone circle. "Tuh-duh! See?"

"Krow…" The bird tilted his head, blinking thoughtfully and trying to work it all out.

Jess went back to her bag, feeling Murkrow flutter off her shoulder to gaze into the flames. After a bit more searching, she found _something_ they could eat – it wasn't exactly Pokéfood, but it was edible…

"Have you guys ever had instant ramen..?" she asked, holding up the package and looking at it quizzically.

"Murkrow…?" The bird turned to her, his near-laughter in his expression.

"I have it for situations like this. It doesn't go bad for awhile, and… it's instant, and… and… Well,_ I_ like it… I think it's the perfect travel food. And it's all we have left, so if you aren't hungry enough to like it, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait until we get to Eterna City…"

Murkrow made a soft noise of discontentment, but then he turned away and decided that it was much better than going hungry.

Jess poured a little bit of the water from her thermos into the pan, then decided that there was a better way – she put the pan outside and let the rain fill up the rest of the pan. "Trust me, it's not that bad… It's my favorite flavor, and you should like it unless you don't like ginger, soy sauce, things like that…"

"Mur-murkrow?"

"I don't expect you to know if you like it or not! I just want you to try it."

"Mur mur…?"

"You _can_ cook _some_ things without boiling the water," she told him as she opened the package and poured in the noodles. "Besides, the noodles get a different texture if you actually cook them slower and for longer…"

"Mur murkrow..?"

"Yes, different in the _good_ way."

"Murkrow murkrow?"

Jess poured in the seasonings, and the bird blinked curiously, watching as Jess stirred the mixture with such deliberate strokes… He eventually noticed a specific pattern of stirring and flipping the noodles over themselves.

"Here, wanna try some?" Jess asked, spooning some out into a bowl for Murkrow.

The trainer watched expectantly as he eyed the bowl inquisitively. He blinked a couple of times and tilted his head, then dipped his beak into it and lapped up a bit.

"It's different, _isn't_ it?"

He tilted his head thoughtfully, then swallowed and snipped off a bit of noodles. After a bit of contemplation, he turned to Jess and nodded. "Mur, Murkrow!"

The trainer smiled. "I'm flattered! What about you, Misdreavus? Are you hungry?" And she was quite surprised with the reply.

Misdreavus shook her head weakly.

Jess looked at her confusedly. "Are you sure? You haven't eaten since.. since whenever you ate before I found you guys…"

The ghost didn't reply.

Jess sighed. "Well… _okay_…" She shrugged, completely empathetic with the fact that losing someone close was pretty rough and didn't exactly induce one's appetite… After another quick glance at the heart-broken creature, she turned back to her own food and slurped it down.

Murkrow made a loud, raucous noise to get Jess's attention once his bowl was empty.

Jess looked over, and he fluttered over to her side and looked up expectantly.

"Sorry Murky, but I don't have any – "

"Krow? Murkrow, mur, mur…"

"I know that was only a little bit, but I don't think – Wait… maybe… Yeah!" She stood up and went to her bag, Murkrow fluttering right behind her.

"I think they're… Hold on…" After digging through her bag for a few long seconds, she managed to find a semi-crushed packet of saltine crackers. "Nice job, Murky! You're right!"

The bird nodded his head slightly to acknowledge the compliment, but he still watched the crackers in Jess's hand with an unmoving gaze.

"Let me guess… you want some."

"Krow!" He fluttered his wings impatiently.

"Okay, here." The trainer pulled about half of the dozen or so crackers out and held one out to him.

Murkrow eagerly snapped it from her fingers and gulped it down. "Krow, _krow!_"

"Okay, here you go." She started to get up to hide them somewhere in their small temporary living space; another game she and Murky had developed involved her hiding whatever he wanted and he would find it – the Murkrow got as much enjoyment from the mental stimulation as the trainer did from her amazement at his intelligence. Most of the time, he managed to find whatever she hid _and_ distract her, steal something of hers, and hide it somewhere in the forest, leaving behind little clues in whatever way he could.

The bird watched Jess with playful anticipation, but Jess couldn't think of anywhere to hide them… she just wasn't in the mood… and she sat back down.

The bird made a soft noise of disappointment as Jess put them right in front of him.

As she began eating a few of her own, Jess couldn't help noticing it. "Sorry Murky, it's just one of those days…" She stroked his back with her finger as he bent down to eat. "Hey, Misdreavus?"

The little Pokémon lifted her head.

Jess's heart was torn to shreds at her expression. "Ohhh… Come on, don't you want to eat _anything?_ Here, try one of these… They're great for when you're not really hungry or not feeling good… and crackers are really light… Please, just at least try it, you have to eat something or you'll starve yourself…"

Misdreavus blinked her large eyes, and, not wanting to disappoint her new owner, she hovered over and nibbled meekly at the edge of one of the squares Jess held out to her.

"See? It's not that bad…"

After she swallowed, with a little bit of force, Jess offered her the rest of it.

She shook her head.

"Oh, Misdreavus…"

The ghost turned away sadly.

"Are you really sure…?"

She nodded her head slightly and turned to Jess, bowing her head apologetically.

"Oh… Um… Okay… I don't want to force you… but… I'll save these just in case…" The trainer put them back in the package.

After a quick stretch, Jess sighed and moved over to the back of the tent, leaning her back on where the tent's fabric met the tree behind it, and Murky fluttered onto her shoulder in a flash of black iridescence.

The Murkrow made a soft, contented sound in his throat as he shifted comfortably on Jess's shoulder. There wasn't much food to go around, but he felt a lot better than he did a few minutes ago, with at least _something_ in his stomach…

A small gust of wind managed to make its way into the tent, and the small flame still flickering from the leaves was reduced to burning embers.

Jess sighed in fascination – there was something magical about the way the glow always looked like it was the reflection of red and orange water… Murky's views were about the same, only he was more inquisitive than fascinated. But both were entranced by the shifting colors.

Misdreavus let out a soft noise as she glided over and settled herself against Jess's side.

The trainer smiled tenderly and reached out to stroke her, and hopefully console her –

The wind blew with sudden fierceness, and it caused the tent to sway precariously.

Everyone looked up uneasily. Jess felt Murky fluff up his feathers, a sign of the desire to be warmer, and she shivered herself; the tent suddenly became chilly…

Jess walked over to where her warm blankets were and lay down where it was warm. The bird lifted off her and landed in his own pile, drawing himself up close to his body in an attempt to retain warmth.

"Come on in, Misdreavus," Jess offered gently, holding up the blanket and gesturing for her to come in.

The ghost let out a soft note and drifted under listlessly.

"You know, you're really worrying me now… I mean, I _know_ what it's like to lose someone really important, but…" She reached out to stroke her – The moment her hand touched the ghost's free-form body, she jumped back and yelped, "Misdreavus, you're _burning up!_"

Misdreavus could only whimper softly.

Murkrow looked at his trainer inquiringly as Jess stumbled up and rushed to her bag. She began rummaging desperately through her bag, searching for medicine, herbs, a berry, _anything…_ But there was nothing to find.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, desperately apologizing, "Oh no – Misdreavus, I'm sorry, I'm so, _soo_ sorry, I don't have anything to – "

A gust of wind cut her off. Murkrow let out a soft questioning noise.

"That doesn't sound good," Jess muttered as the relentless wind continued on, seeming to grow stronger every second.

Then one of the pegs was ripped from the ground. Murkrow gripped Jess's shoulder tighter, his tension obvious in his talons, and Misdreavus whimpered fearfully.

A sudden doubling in the force of the gale, and yet another stake was pulled from the ground.

The trainer blinked at the folds of the tent flapping around wildly, then she set Misdreavus down on the pile on blankets and rushed over to her bag and began throwing everything in.

_"Murkrow __**mur**__krow?!?!"_ the bird asked, absolutely alarmed.

Jess gathered up the rocks and threw them in. "We have to get out of here, it wouldn't be safe if the tent came out…"

Misdreavus whimpered and let out a few desperate notes, begging Jess to not make them…

The trainer came over and picked her up gently to get the blankets, then carried her over as she stuffed the blankets into the bag hurriedly. "I know it seems safe here, but it's really not."

The ghost whimpered fearfully.

"Besides, I have to get you to a Pokécenter!"

Jess zipped up the bag, threw it on her shoulder, and took the tarp off the tree branch, being careful to make sure that the other two stayed under it, then she doubled it up and threw it over herself; it would have been impossible to maneuver with it full-size, though doubled-up it was almost too small…

Murkrow fluttered to her shoulder, and Misdreavus hovered to her side as she took off into the rain at full speed.

Even though Jess held the tarp as widely and as close to herself as she could, the small cover couldn't protect them from the razor-point droplets that the wind blew onto them.

Murkrow fluffed his feathers uncomfortably and brought his head as close to his body as possible. It wasn't even like the rain was warm, and the water was making its way into his warm down feathers.

Misdreavus looked out into the rain and whimpered – she couldn't help thinking about Mismagius and wondering if she was okay…

Jess looked down at the little ghost and blinked, then she sighed sympathetically –

She had to force herself to look away from the little ghost, and had to squint her eyes from the rain and focus on making sure she didn't run them into a tree.

* * *

Mismagius looked out into the forest and softened her senses, allowing herself to feel the rain as it pounded softly against her body. She tilted her head up, smiling pleasantly at the sensation of the stream of water running down her back from her – what was that, a hat…? She let out a soft note of indifference and closed her eyes blissfully, embracing the chilling sensations the wind cast upon her. This weather didn't bother her at all. She had endured much worse during her life in the forest, and it was actually quite relaxing. 

She opened her eyes again and surveyed the foggy beauty that always accompanied the rain this time of year, especially this close to the field… A smile crossed her face as she blinked peacefully and let herself hover just a bit more relaxed… It was nice to be alone again… Every other creature in the forest stayed well away from her, and she honestly preferred to be alone… and it was so nice to let herself slip back into the carefree life of a Misdreavus…

Then she bowed her head.

Misdreavus… She couldn't fool herself. It _was_ nice to relax, but she couldn't keep that thought in the back of her mind from resurfacing. She missed her newest and only friend…

And then her sadness was easily overcome by desolate confusion. Why had she wanted to stay with that _human?_

She should go back and bring her – but no, she had offered to take her, and Misdreavus declined. The ghost let out a soft noise of frustration. What did she _see_ in that human?

Didn't she _understand?!_

But she _did_ heal Misdreavus… And Murkrow had said… Maybe this one was different…

And then she realized something that cast a heavy weight of remorse on her heart – she had been completely hypocrytical. Her judgements of Jess had been based off her _own_ superstitions… Maybe… maybe she was no better than those humans…

* * *

Jess couldn't have been running for more than fifteen minutes when she was suddenly forced to a halt. 

Murkrow cawed a few notes of desperate inquisition, and Misdreavus whimpered.

Jess turned around and began pulling on the fabric. "I-I can't – _It's stuck!"_

"_Murkrow?!"_

"Great…" She let out a grunt and gripped it even harder, now pulling with all her force –

Her fingers slipped from it and she nearly fell onto her back. "I can't get it out…"

"Krow," the bird muttered, and he lifted off her shoulder and followed the tarp.

His form vanished into the dark night; he was only a few feet away, but with the trees and the clouds combined, it was far too dark to see any more than the faintest sihouettte.

"Murky - ?"

"Krow, krow!" he cawed back.

"On what?"

The bird made a noise of thoughtfulness, then the sound of his fluttering was heard as he followed the material even further. "Krow, krow – Krow!"

"What – ? A thornbush –?! Perfect…"

"Mur, murkrow!"

"Are you sure – ?"

"Krow," he replied, and the tarp began moving up and down with the force of his beak. "Murkrow, krow krow!"

"_Be careful – !"_

Jess yelped as the material suddenly made a horrible ripping noise, and Murkrow let out a startled note as it collapsed beneath him. He barely managed to catch himself before he tumbled into the thick thorns, and he fluttered clumsily to Jess's shoulder.

He shook himself in an attempt to be at least a little drier – they were now completely exposed to the rain.

Jess barely glanced at the small piece of fabric remaining before she cast it aside and ran on, heedless of the rain.

"Ghosts aren't susceptible to colds, are they?" she asked at a weak attempt at humor.

Murkrow sounded yet another note of discomfort, and Jess stopped yet again with a sigh. "Murky, why don't you stay in here," she asked, opening the Pokéball and watching as the red ray of light engulfed him and brought him into the sphere. The fact that he didn't resist at all definitely eased her conscience about it.

She began running yet again, and she cradled Misdreavus close to protect her from the rain.

Jess felt her little body's feverish heat searing her bare arms, but she didn't care. She had to get the ghost somewhere, take care of here, and _fast_.

Misdreavus shifted, uncomfortable and tense in her sickness. Yet… For the first time she felt comfortable – really, really comfortable… Never in her life had someone actually _cared_ for her like this… She nestled closer to Jess – the trainer's body felt amazingly warming, and it only made her feel even more feverish, but the security she felt in Jess's gentle yet secure grip was more than worth it.

Jess glanced down at Misdreavus anxiously, then she felt her feet slip and had to force her gaze back to the forest. And her eyes widened as she realized that the trees were much thinner – she could actually see the field beyond the forest.

The moment she broke through the last trees' branches, she burst into a full-sped run, barely noticing and not caring that the muddy puddles' water was making its way up her leg, causing a wet, icy, flapping piece of fabric to replace her once-warm pants.

"Hang in there," she muttered breathlessly, "we're almost there…"

And as she glanced to a farther point in the field, she saw the sign that proved it was true: a small pink light, blurred by the thick rain but a light nonetheless, and the exact color gave Jess the hope that it was a Pokécenter, and a new energy was suddenly found within her. Her steps became much swifter, and there was a bounce in each determined footfall, regardless of her exhaustion.

After a few seconds of running with heavy, pounding steps in the numbing rain, the inevitable happened. Jess mistepped, her foot slipped, and in a reflexive attempt to regain her balance, she threw her hands out to her side, sending Misdreavus through the air with a startled yelp, and the trainer landed on her back with the wind completely knocked out of her.

It was a few moments before Jess caught her breath. She expelled a tense and frustrated noise of pain as she tried to sit up cautiously. But her speed changed immediately when Misdreavus whimpered weakly.

"Oh my god," she muttered frantically as she jumped up and began desperately scanning the muddy ground.

_Why couldn't that fall __**wait?!**_ she wondered, realizing that she could barely make out the sky from the ground, the puddles from the grass… _There's not __**nearly**__ enough light!_ "Oh, where are you?" she mumbled desolately.

Another soft note answered, and Jess looked toward the source of the sound – and she was _just_ able to make out the round form of the ghost's body.

She gasped softly and kneeled by her side before she, gently and carefully as humanly possible, picked her up and held her close to her chest. "Oh, Misdreavus, I'm _soooooo_ sorry, I didn't know – ! I should've been more careful, then – Oh no, you're all wet – Hold on…" Tenderly shifting her to one hand, Jess took her coat and began gently rubbing Misdreavus dry. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Misdreavus whimpered a few notes miserably.

"Oh, I know it hurts, and I'm really _really_ sorry, but there's nothing I can do," Jess told her, close to tears in her helplessness. "I'm sorry…" She shifted the little creature again and began rubbing her back –

Misdreavus yelped in startled pain so suddenly Jess jumped. "_Misdreavus - ?!_" She withdrew her hand and immediately let the damp coat slap against her side. "What happened?" she asked urgently, and then she gently placed her finger on Misdreavus's back, just below the space in between two of the pearls encircling her neck.

Misdreavus tensed at her touch.

"Okay, okay, sh, sh, please, calm down, okay… Shhh…"

Reluctantly and with quite a bit of effort, the ghost managed to calm herself down just enough to stop herself from yelping as Jess slowly moved her finger just a bit down on her back, then stopped.

Misdreavus blinked up at Jess with a weak note of confusion.

"Okay," Jess said softly, sensing the Pokémon's unease and noticing that her eyes were clouded with pain, "I'm going to try to figure out exactly where the injury is, okay? So, when I get to where it's hurting, even just a bit, let me know, okay?"

Her reply was a quiet, nervous sound.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful, and I'm going to be very, very gentle, okay?"

The ghost nodded, but still watched Jess's face when she began moving her finger down her back, her expression the same uneasy fear and nerves that a child watches her mother with when she knows that something bad is about to happen. The suspense and titillation of Jess's tender touch made her as tense as the knowledge that –

Jess's finger brushed right into the center of pain, and Misdreavus yelped so suddenly and with so much short but definite pain in her voice that Murkrow forced his way out of his Pokéball with a scolding and curious cry.

"_Sorry_ – Sorry, sorry, okay, Missie, sh, I'm sorry, I can't check it out if you're so – !"

Misdreavus whimpered desolately and tried to shift away from Jess's finger. Noticing her motions, Jess moved her finger away as she caught her own breath before she began rocking and muttering comforts to the little ghost, reusing the nickname she realized she had just given her and rhythmatically stroking the side of her cheek with a tender finger in an attempt to soothe her.

"Murkrow _mur_krow?" the bird asked, playfully but accusingly.

"Not now, Murky," Jess told him softly before turning back to the one that actually _needed _attention. "Shhhhh, Missie, can you calm down for me? I'm only trying to figure out how badly that fall hurt you… I know ghosts probably aren't used to falling…"

Murkrow muffled a laughing croak, and Jess snapped her head to him and blew a brisk gust of air at his neck, causing him to let out an awkward cry of half-startled indignity.

Jess, satisfied in the fact that he always shut up whenever indignitated, turned her gaze back to Misdreavus. "Okay," she said approvingly at the fact that she was looking at them and not snapping her eyes in pain. "Are you ready?"

Misdreavus blinked.

"Can I check it out now?"

Misdreavus watched Jess for a few seconds before nodding and closing her eyes.

"Okay," Jess reaffirmed softly, a smile spreading across her face – she was honored and elated to still have Misdreavus's trust, even _after_ that fall. She couldn't help noticing that, as she slowly moved her finger closer to the spot of pain again, the little ghost was becoming steadily more tense, and she grit her teeth in tension as Jess neared the injury.

Misdreavus gulped back another screech, but she couldn't suppress the tight whimper when the trainer touched the spot, even though her touch was even more fragile than before, though it hadn't seemed possible.

Jess's finger lingered for a moment, then she sighed and let her hand fall at the sound. "I hate to say it, but I can't tell," she confessed, to herself _and _Misdreavus, feeling even worse about making Misdreavus go through all that pain for nothing than her lack of knowledge. "I have _no_ experience with ghosts… I'm sorry, Missie…" She expelled a sympathetic breath –Misdreavus was shivering from endured pain and whimpering relentlessly –

"Okay, we need to get you to a Pokécenter, _now,_" Jess said, recalling Murkrow back into his Pokéball. "Sorry, no time," she muttered when he tried to protest, then she took off at a run towards the pink blur of lights.

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**_

"Oh my," Nurse Joy muttered as Jess handed her the helpless and shivering Misdreavus.

"Please tell me you can help her!" Jess pleaded desperately, knowing exactly how little people knew about ghosts – _Misdreavus are probably the most popular,_ she reminded herself – but then she remembered how the research books and Pokédex themselves had said that ghosts have such a mysterious background – and _fore_ground…

"I'm sure there's _something_ we can – "

"I can _promise_ that she's not that different – I gave her an oran berry, and it worked just as great as it did on – !"

"I believe you, it's just that we don't usually _treat_ ghost Pokémon – "

"_Please _– "

"But I think we can make an exception." And she gave Jess one of those pleasant Joy-only smiles.

Jess blinked, her mouth still open. "Oh, okay – Thank you _soooo_ much, that really means a lot to us…" She let out a breath of relief, then turned to the shivering ghost and smiled tenderly. "See, Missie? It's all going to be okay."

The nurse set Misdreavus down on a cushion and bent behind the counter. "While we're treating it, you'll probably want to – "

"No, I'd rather stay with her!" Jess nearly yelped as Joy offered her the key to a room.

"But – We don't – "

"Please? Trust me, it'll make her feel a lot more comfortable – she gets nervous easily and she's been through a lot the past couple of days, and I don't think I could stand waiting and waiting and waiting – "

"I'm terribly sorry, but I can't allow you to go with her."

"Drea…?" Misdreavus wearily raised her head and blinked at Jess, then blinked at the nurse, her expression wistfully asking why and pleading all at once before she whimpered weakly, and her head drifted back down.

Her trainer sighed. "It's that whole "sterile environment" thing, _isn't_ it…"

The nurse nodded sympathetically. "I'm sorry. It seems like you two are very close… I promise we'll take good care of her."

Jess blinked with another soft sigh, then went to Misdreavus and gave her a gentle but close hug. The ghost let out a barely audible whimper, and Jess looked into her pleading red-and-yellow eyes. "I'm so sorry, Missie, but she's right… I can't go with you… But I promise I'll still be here when you're done, okay? I promise."

Misdreavus blinked with a soft note of wondering inquisition, and Jess smiled. "I promise."

And she gave her one last embrace before Joy called in the Chansey, and Misdreavus was taken into the "Employees Only" section of the Pokécenter.

Jess sighed, then turned back to Joy.

"Here, you might want these," she told her, and she handed Jess the keycard to the room.

"Thanks," Jess said half-heartedly with the shadow of a smile before heading off to find the room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Review please - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	5. Real Relaxation at Last

_And again, the whole flashdrive ordeal… But I enjoyed rewriting it – the changes in the last chapter sure made it a lot more interesting for this one… and it's so heartwarming, perfect for Christmas time… __**Happy Holidays**__, everyone!!!_

_Enjoy!_

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - **_

_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 4: Real Relaxation at Last  
**_

Jess sighed softly as she sat on the bed, numbly gazing out the window. Pidgeotto, sitting on the windowsill, tilted his head with a soft note. Murkrow shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder, sensing her anxiety in her posture as well as her mood and expression as she tilted her head down and blinked at the Ninetails lying across her lap with his luxurious tails encircling her.

"I'm just worried," she told them. "And not just about Missie, about Mismagius, too... I hope _she's_ not sick... and Missie's fever was just so – so high…" She swallowed and closed her eyes tightly, trying in vain to keep the tears gathering in her eyes from falling.

Ninetails blinked, then sat up and nuzzled his nose against her neck, then he licked her cheek a couple of times until she giggled and began rubbing the mane on his neck.

"Okay, okay!" she laughed, and she threw her arms around him and buried her face in his silky mane. "Don't worry," she told him softly, "I'll be fine…"

"Murkrow murkrow?" the black bird asked softly, and Jess gripped Ninetails just a bit tighter.

"I hope so," she whispered, and a shiver cascaded down her spine.

Murkrow made a soft noise in his throat, then let out a sound to get Pigeotto's attention. When he turned his way, Murkrow nodded his head towards the bathroom, and they fluttered off towards the room.

Jess was too absorbed in her worry to notice.

When the birds flew out of the bathroom carrying a towel in their beaks, Ninetails nuzzled her to awareness just before they dropped it around her shoulders.

"Thanks," she told them quietly, and she unfurled her arms from the fox's fur and drew it closer around herself.

"Murkrow murkrow," he croaked comfortingly as he lighted on her shoulder.

Pidgeotto landed next to her on the bed and leaned against her.

Jess sighed with a sad smile and turned to the black bird on her shoulder. "I know, it's just… I worry whenever I let you guys out of my sight. I mean, if there's an Umbreon loose or something and it gets to Missie – it could really hurt her!" She blinked her desperate eyes and bit her lip, all of the fearful images and emotions she had been trying to suppress flooding her mind.

"Krow, krow, _mur_krow!" he cawed back, reassurance unmistakable in his tone – it was as much to comfort the trainer as himself; the desperately afraid look in Jess's eyes was just so unnatural, so out of character...

"Yeah, I know… But they _always_ say that… They can't be right _all_ the time, can they…?"

Murkrow tilted his head and blinked, then raised his shoulders in a gesture of helpless thoughtfulness.

Jess sighed and bowed her head.

"Murkrow murkrow?" he asked softly.

The trainer shook her head. "I just don't like leaving you guys with other people… I haven't found one person except for my father who treats my team the same way… Who knows what they might do to Missie? What if they can't figure out what's wrong and they try something, and it ends up poisoning her or…!"

"Mur murkrow?"

"If they don't know what to do, they're bound to try _something…_"

The fox wrapped around her let out a soft note of agreement.

"Krow murkrow…?"

"_Anything_ can happen, Murky," Jess told him, blinking desolately out the rain-covered window, trying to tell herself that "anything" included all the healing possibilities… but her other logical side prevailed, and her worry stayed as strong as ever.

Had she not been so engulfed in her own thoughts, the sudden fluttering of Pidgeotto's wings would have startled her, but the only sentiment in her gaze as she watched him settle on the top bunk to sleep was anxiety.

"Krow," the bird on her shoulder muttered softly as the soft cooing of the other's breathing filled the room.

Jess could only sigh, and she let herself flop over on the bed.

"Murkrow, mur murkrow?" he asked, hoping to lighten her mood with a bit of playful teasing.

"No," Jess replied.

He let out a soft note of defeat, then fluttered over to the windowsill and watched the rain water run down the glass.

"I should've been more careful," the trainer muttered to herself, and the bird cawed lightly and turned his head to her. "Murkrow, mur mur, murkrow…"

"Well… No, I didn't know, but…"

"Mur, mur murkrow!"

Jess lifted herself up and blinked at him. "Okay, you win…"

"Mur murkrow, _mur_krow?"

"Yes, I give, it's not… _entirely_ my fault."

The bird shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"I could've been more careful, though…"

"Mur," he replied, simply stating that it was a fair enough exchange. "Mur, murkrow murkrow, _mur?_ "

"Yeah… Okay, sure… But that doesn't change the fact that she's still in another room with a bunch of strangers – "

"_Mur_krow."

"They're only trained to take care of them physically. I mean, I know that they're really caring, but sometimes there's just nothing that can ever replace actual experience… Especially with one as delicate as Misdreavus…"

"Murkrow mur…?"

"Yes, delicate's the only way I think I can… Well, she's… I don't know, I just don't think it was a good time far all this… I only found her a day ago, and Mismagius is gone, and so suddenly, too – she _has_ to be at least a _little_ upset… So, I guess it's more like a delicate situation… But still, I… I want to be really careful with her…"

"Murkrow murkrow," he said, voicing a random observation of her obviously straining to stay awake.

"That was both off-topic… _and_ true."

"Murkrow_mur_krow!"

"Yeah, and _you_ weren't the one running for at least an hour in the freezing weather, you didn't fall onto your back, you aren't soaked with water so cold that it feels like you just jumped into the Arctic Ocean in the middle of January – "

"Murkrow murkrow."

The trainer sighed yet again. "Okay, yeah, I'm sorry, it's just… I'm just really worried."

"Mur," he replied softly, turning back to the window.

"I just hope everything turns out okay…" Jess said quietly.

Murkrow made a soft noise in his throat, and the room fell silent.

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"_Murkrow!"_

Jess gasped and bolted up at the sudden call. Somehow, between the rain still softly pattering against the glass, Pidgeotto's gentle coo-like snoring, and her own physical and mental exhaustion, she had managed to fall asleep, and his call had just pulled her back to the dawn-lit room.

"Wha -? Murky, what's…?"

He nodded his head towards the door, and Jess called, "Coming!" before stretching quickly and running to open it.

The bird fluttered over to her shoulder curiously as she glanced down to the round, pink visitor. "Chansey…? What - ?"

"Chansey, chansey!" the helper called, gesturing for Jess to follow her as she started off down the hall.

Jess and Murkrow exchanged a curious glance and headed after her.

The Chansey led them to the recovery room, and Jess gasped ecstatically and bolted in, unable to contain her relief – even though a whole new kind of nerves set in.

"How is she?" Jess asked the nurse at the other end of the room, stroking the little ghost's cheek with one infinitely gentle finger. Her heart leapt as she stirred and opened her eyes halfway.

"It's doing much better," the nurse replied, shutting a cabinet and meeting Jess at the bedside.

Misdreavus let out a soft note of recognition and relief, and Jess smiled. "Can we take her into _our_ room now…?" she asked, managing to suppress her hesitation as she tried to find a way around the inevitable answer.

"Well, I wouldn't say she's ready to go just yet…"

"Exactly how healed is she? She's not sick anymore, right…? Just regaining her strength?" Jess began thinking back to all the times her father had brought home an injured Pokémon and they had all helped it heal…

The nurse nodded with an 'm-hm'.

"So… Is there any way she could get out now…?"

"I don't think you should –"

"Please…? I don't think it's really going to make a difference where she heals…"

"She's a lot safer here."

"Yeah, but… I've actually seen proof that Pokémon tend to heal better in more pleasant surroundings… I really think she'll feel a lot better if she's with me… Besides, it's in her eyes, she's kinda nervous right now…" She turned to the nurse as she pleaded farther. "I really, really think that she'd be a lot more comfortable if she didn't feel like she was confined to one room…"

Misdreavus let out a soft note of wonder and blinked up at her trainer. It was actually true…

The nurse looked a bit flustered – she couldn't help agreeing with some of the trainer's points… but then again… "She's still not fully healed yet…"

"It's not going to be physical stressful either; I'd probably just let her sleep in my bed, and she could rest there."

"Well, I –" The nurse sighed – it was actually pretty touching to see this trainer trying so hard. "I guess you're right…"

"So, can I take her out…? I don't plan on leaving the center any time soon, we were moving nonstop for at least an hour last night, and in that rain it was just… wow, so exhausting… And we could all use a break… So, yeah, it's not like I'm going to be leaving today… So… Please…?"

The nurse smiled. "I guess it wouldn't hurt…"

"I can take her now?"

"But be careful…"

"Trust me, I will!" Jess said as she picked Misdreavus up gently and cradled her in her arms.

The ghost made a noise of pleasure as she snuggled closer to Jess's body, and her trainer's smile widened as she realized that her flowing body felt cool and smooth, the way a ghost-creature's body should feel, and not burning with intense fever. "Feeling better, Missie?"

The ghost nodded with a sound of affirmation.

"Good."

The nurse smiled at their tender reunion, then said, "Make sure you keep your word."

"Oh, I will, trust me… And… Nurse Joy? Thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome!" she replied readily.

Jess nodded, and Murkrow pulled her bang playfully before they headed back to their room.

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Jess sighed contentedly as she let herself slip just a bit farther into the steaming water. It felt so amazingly nice to be able to relax after all that had happened the past few days… She glanced around the bathroom – Murky in the sink grooming himself, Pidgeotto watching the birds outside, and Ninetails sitting in front of the door…

"Hey Misdreavus, have you ever been in a bath before?"

The ghost hovering by the tub tilted her head and blinked.

"It'll feels great, and with your back and all, it might actually be great for your health, too… I poured some Epsom salt in here, and it's just so… Well, come on, find out for yourself!"

The ghost moved a bit closer and looked at her trainer curiously, watching her steadily.

Then she smiled mischievously and used the two front tendrils of her "hair" to splash Jess with the water.

Jess laughed and splashed her right back, and they began throwing water at each other like a pair of Seel.

Murkrow couldn't keep himself from laughing and Misdreavus dove in and hid herself below the bubbles.

Jess watched the surface with jovial caution, but she was still a bit startled when Misdreavus suddenly shot out and sent a small wave of water right at her. The trainer couldn't help laughing as she wiped the bubbles that flew up from Missie's sudden emergence from her face.

Then Jess caught a flash of white light in the corner of her eye and turned, watching the space in the middle of the bathroom.

Misdreavus, recognizing that she had stopped playing and was suddenly serious, followed her gaze. Then she squealed ecstatically.

The white iridescence had just materialized into the form of Mismagius.

Jess blinked, holding back her own ecstasy. "I don't know, Missie... What if it's just a hallucination...?"

Misdreavus either didn't hear her or didn't care. She shot right towards her friend and began zooming in wild circles around her body, squealing excitedly the whole time.

"Mismagius… Is it really you…?"

The ghost blinked away from the hyper Misdreavus and turned to Jess, then nodded with a note of reassurance. Then she joined the smaller ghost, and they were doing circles around each other until Mismagius broke the cycle and shot towards the ceiling. Misdreavus yelped playfully, and suddenly they began playing their own version of a cross between follow the leader and tag.

Jess couldn't help laughing. Then, after a few seconds of watching them play, a sudden serious thought crossed her mind: "What made you decide to come back?"

Mismagius stopped and tilted her head, blinking at the trainer as Misdreavus nipped jovially at the top of her "hat." Then she replied something with a smile, and the trainer blinked in a moment of confusion before shrugging. "So, you're saying you never left?"

The ghost shook her head, and she let out another few notes.

"It was a hallucination?"

She shook her head yet again.

Jess watched her, a bit puzzled. "You _leaving_ was just a hallucination?"

"Magius," the ghost replied – her tone a flat negative.

"You're just messing with me now, aren't you?" the trainer asked with a smile.

The Mismagius nodded with a note of satisfaction.

"So, seriously," Jess asked as the ghosts began chasing each other once more, "why did you come back?"

Mismagius replied as she and Misdreavus flew past Murkrow so suddenly that he tried to flutter away in surprise but only managed to land on the floor in a sopping mass of feathers.

"How were you being a hypocrite…?"

Mismagius turned, smiling at Murkrow's huffy muttering as he stood up, and explained everything she could before diving into the water where he had been a moment ago, and sending a wave of water over him. She smiled in her satisfaction as Misdreavus followed, and he fell to the floor again with a sound of indignity.

Jess watched as the bird struggled to get his footing, then try to shake himself dry.

The ghosts took to the air again, and Jess blinked. "I've never heard any Pokémon talk like that… Even some _people_ don't think like that…"

Mismagius turned and blinked at the trainer, half amazed and half puzzled as she let out a soft note of questioning.

Jess smiled. "There's just something so interesting about you…"

Misdreavus tilted her head at them, having realized her friend's sudden lack of playfulness, and she nestled herself against the other ghost's side.

Jess smiled tenderly at Mismagius's expression of affection as she wrapped one of her tendril-like arms around the smaller ghost and brought her closer.

"It's nice to have you back," Jess told her softly.

The ghost nodded, and then voiced her agreement.

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Later that night, after everyone had eaten dinner and after a bit of browsing the Pokécenter's main lobby for any interesting tourist attractions, Jess brought out her own blankets and lay one on the bed, the others on the top bunk for Pidgeotto and Murky.

"Alright, I'm ready for bed," Jess said, turning to the others on the bed. "What about you guys?"

"Murkrow!" the black bird agreed, and Pidgeotto led the pair to the top bunk.

"How 'bout you?" the trainer asked, turning to the smaller ghost.

Misdreavus blinked up at the trainer with a concerned look, then turned to Mismagius and let out a barely audible note.

Jess, following her gaze, blinked at the purple ghost hovering by the window, and Mismagius looked up, seeming a bit startled. Then she bowed her head and blinked uneasily.

"Hey, you okay over there?" Jess asked, just now noticing exactly how uncomfortable she was.

The ghost looked up, but all she did was smile awkwardly.

Jess blinked and tilted her head, suddenly feeling a bit worried about her. But she decided that maybe it'd be better to let Mismagius have a little privacy for a couple of days… She knew that adjusting to a new life like this would probably be pretty hard on her…

"So, are you guys ready?" she asked.

Misdreavus let out a soft note before she nudged Mismagius gently and glided over to the bedside, nodding her head for Mismagius to follow her.

The other ghost blinked, then followed her to the bed, her expression making it obvious that she was ill at ease with… _something…_

"You sure you're okay?" Jess asked as she lay down.

The ghost nodded, then watched as Misdreavus snuggled herself next to the trainer. She couldn't help feeling out of place as she moved to Misdreavus's side and let herself rest on the blanket.

Misdreavus muttered a soft note of questioning, but Mismagius shrugged and made a quiet and neutral sound, reassuring Misdreavus that she was okay.

The smaller ghost still watched her for a few moments, but when Mismagius's breathing became slow and steady, she guessed that if Mismagius herself wasn't losing any sleep over it then she shouldn't either, and she wrapped one of her strands that served as arms around her friend affectionately.

Jess smiled a bit with relief when she felt the tension leave Missie's body and allowed herself to slip to sleep as well.

Once the sound of Pidgeotto's sleeping breaths filled the moonlit room, Mismagius cautiously opened one eye and glanced around. After studying Jess for just a moment more than the rest, she gently moved Misdreavus and took to the air. The ghost hovered across the room and gazed out the window longingly, feeling a pull towards her old home as she saw the forest beyond the meadow.

Murkrow, still not able to adjust his sleeping schedule, lifted his head from beneath his wing and blinked, then fluttered to the windowsill with wing-beats as quiet as an owl's. He didn't have to look to hard to see that something was bothering her, and he inquired exactly what it was in a soft whisper.

She turned her head to him and opened her mouth, but then she bowed her head and hesitated to speak.

The iridescent bird let out a reassuring note, a gentle and patient expression on his face.

The ghost blinked, then turned back to the view of the free world. She looked at their reflections for a few moments before she spoke a few nearly-silent notes – she couldn't finish and let out a homesick note before she had to turn away from the glass to stop, or at least lessen, the painful call of the wild.

Murkrow cawed a couple of comforting notes. Mismagius only shook her head desolately; it still hurt…

The black bird gave her a few moments of silence before he inquired again, only with a softer tone. She held her silence. Murkrow didn't want to rush her, but it was becoming a bit uncomfortable, and he insisted that she could talk to him without fear.

Misdreavus shifted in her sleep, and Mismagius glanced at her uneasily, almost apologetically, and then she turned back to the window, gazing up at the stars as she told Murkrow just a small gossamer bit of the truth.

He made a soft noise in his throat and followed her gaze. They watched the moon crawl through the cloudless sky for a few minutes before he made a soft noise in his throat and cawed his empathy and understanding.

Mismagius glanced at him with a small note of wonder.

He turned to her and nodded. Then he inched closer to her and held out one of his wings, a promise of friendship.

Mismagius blinked, then she nodded and put her tendril-like arm in his wing with a small sound of thanks.

The bird nodded, a smile of harmony on his face as he put his wing around her flowing body.

She hesitated, but for only a moment before she leaned into his feathery body, glad to have finally found someone she could confide in. Misdreavus wouldn't mock her or anything, but she didn't want to burden the young ghost with her own secrets…

"Murkrow, murkrow," he told her reassuringly, and Mismagius nodded, closing her eyes contentedly as she smiled, actually _smiled_, for the first time in far too long.

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_**-Raven's secret-keeper**_


	6. The Journey Begins

_Just as a random note, when a Pokémon's name is plural, it's no different from the singular version… My proof is in the Japanese language itself __**and**__ a couple of episodes._

_Enjoy!_

_Read and review,_

_**Raven's secret-keeper**_

* * *

_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 5: The Journey Begins**_

By the time Jess's eyelids fluttered open the next morning, the pink dawnlight had already lifted just about every other one of her roommates' eyes, and the trainer was greeted with a soft coo from the bird on the top bunk. After a thorough stretch and feeling her body crackle refreshingly, Jess blinked up to the bird and smiled. "Hey pretty-bird."

The Pidgeotto nodded in acknowledgement of her soft greeting and ruffled his wings before going back to grooming his caramel-colored feathers.

"Not even a note of a hello?" the trainer observed, then she rubbed her eyes and glanced around the room for the source of his quietness. She spotted the reason almost immediately, and her expression softened from alertness to tender understanding.

Resting on the windowsill were her two darkest companions, leaning against each other and sleeping peacefully.

"I'm surprised that morning light didn't wake them up," she whispered, her voice extremely low as she leaned towards the Misdreavus hovering by her side.

The little ghost nodded sleepily in agreement before turning to the pair.

Then the trainer blinked, a little puzzled. "Yesterday that Mismagius looked so ill at ease… but now she's… Huh… I wonder what happened last night…" She tilted her head at the two, then shrugged, deciding to let them keep their privacy. She wanted to know exactly what _had_ happened, but she decided that it would be best if they had a little privacy, and at least a little time. Especially with how delicate of a position the Mismagius seemed to be in, and the last thing the trainer wanted to do was make her feel invaded, or worse, set her off again and never have a chance of bonding.

The Misdreavus by Jess's side blinked, tilting her head inquisitively. There had definitely been something wrong last night, and the Misdreavus couldn't stop herself from worrying about her. But it was so great to know her friend was okay… That thought relaxed her, along with the realization that she was sleeping soundly, and her tension for the Mismagius faded away. She smiled and leaned her head against the trainer.

"Better let them sleep," the trainer mumbled to herself, bringing the ghost into a loose hug.

The little ghost let out a comfortable note and nuzzled her trainer.

Jess couldn't help giggling lovingly. "Missie, you're so _affectionate!"_

The Misdreavus just smiled up at her.

"I never knew a Pokémon could like you this much after only being with you for three days!"

Missie nodded, then she let her head rest in the crook of the trainer's arm as she mumbled a contented note and closed her eyes.

Jess smiled at the Misdreavus as she began stroking her hair softly. It really was amazing, how quickly this little ghost had trusted her… especially with what her last trainer had done to her… A flare of hatred for whoever previously owned the ghost sparked within, and she hoped that particular person would get what was coming for them, but she sighed and blinked it away. She couldn't stay mad like that with the little Misdreavus leaning against her so lovingly… She smiled again and let herself refocus on the ghost, realizing that this was probably a bonding moment – Missie had just been healed from whatever sickness had stricken, Mismagius was back, and now everything was okay.

Pidgeotto cocked his head, and the Ninetails glanced up at him knowingly. Both nodded contentedly, sensing a relaxation that hadn't overcome the trainer since she had left home. And, having been with Jess since she received him as a Vulpix on Christmas so many years ago, the Ninetails knew that this was a rare moment, and he savored every moment of her quiet joy.

Jess saw their slight motion of agreement and smiled. She had just managed to pull off the one dream she had ever envisioned… _And it's a perfect morning for that accomplishment,_ she thought, gazing contentedly at the dust motes floating lazily through the golden sunlight shining through the window, the beam broken by the shadows of the Mismagius and the Murkrow beside her. _They look so peaceful_, she observed, and then she looked beyond them into the forest. The sun's light hit the trees and cast shadows into the forest, it just looked so amazing…

Then the silence was broken by the distant call of Starly, and the Mismagius stirred and lifted her head sleepily.

The Murkrow felt her shifting and pulled his head from his wing and tilted his head at her, seeing her semi-alert expression and wondering what caused her –

The Misdreavus squealed a greeting and lifted her head from the trainer's arm excitedly. She felt too comfortable to actually get up, but the Mismagius was definitely feeling better than she had last night, it was obvious from her expression, and the Misdreavus was extremely relieved and glad for her.

"Hey Mismagius," Jess greeted softly with a smile. "You look better."

The ghost blinked, lifting her body just a couple of inches above the windowsill, then shrugged by tilting her head before turning back to the window.

"Still tired over there?" Jess asked affectionately.

Mismagius was too busy gazing beyond the meadow again to reply.

"Krow…?" The black bird tilted his head, his expression concerned, and blinked at her.

"Misma," the ghost sighed, bowing her head and closing her eyes. So many vivid memories flared relentlessly within her mind every time she saw that forest… Maybe it _had_ been only a few days ago when she was gliding along its misty atmosphere and taking in every possible sensory excitement: the smell of the leaves on the floor, the taste of the fear and anxiety from a Buneary who had wandered too far from home, the sounds of every other forest creature carried softly through the air and murmuring things incomprehensible on the wind, the feel of the fog caressing her as she sped through the air, the perpetual darkness, the veil that shrouded everything within the trees, heedless of whether the sun was risen or set… That all seemed so far away now, so hazy and unreachable…

The Mismagius lifted her head and blinked out at what had once been a haven of shadows…

The bird stepped to her side and nudged her a bit with his wing, his expression a smile he hoped was more optimistic than the desolation emanated from her every action.

The trainer's smile slipped downwards as the Mismagius shook her head. She looked better... but not contented. Not yet…

"Mis…?" The younger ghost blinked up at her friend.

The larger ghost let out another desolate note. She turned her head a bit more upwards, hoping something would seem familiar, but from this angle… and through the glass instead of the clear midnight air…

Her body sank just a fraction of an inch lower as she felt, once again, the pang of change and this new containment. Her eyes flickered to the canopy, longing for a sense of familiarity –

She winced and had to turn away, the sunlight was just too painfully bright for her nocturnal eyes to handle any longer.

Jess felt an expression of sympathy cross her face as she watched the Mismagius's actions. Sympathy, but mixed in with a bit of appreciation and with the slightest hint of fascination – this creature had actually given up her home, her forest and sense of security, her entire life, just to stay with her friend…

_Now that's friendship, _the trainer thought enviously, wondering if she would ever be able to find such a close friend – of her own species… But she smiled as the Misdreavus in her arms lay her head back down, yawning softly and closing her eyes.

_Who says I _need_ a human friend?_

"Still sleepy?" she asked the little ghost tenderly.

The Misdreavus nodded soundlessly.

"Okay… Well, I promised the nurse that I'd let you rest for the next couple of days…and you guys are nocturnal Pokémon, right?"

The Mismagius made a soft note of reply, pointing out exactly how much of an understatement that was.

Jess chuckled. "Okay… Here… Murky, Mismagius, can you guys move for a second?"

The Murkrow fluttered clumsily onto the bed as she stood up, and the Mismagius followed suite, only taking a place much closer to the wall, in the shadow of the top bunk. She was still trying to blink away the afterimage of all that sunlight…

Jess pulled the drawstring and let the blinds close slowly, not wanting to disturb the early-morning harmony that always accompanied such early risings. "So, I take it I'm not the only one who wants to take advantage of this little artificial piece of darkness?"

The Pidgeotto on her bed flapped his wings and let out a few cries of curiosity.

"I'm gonna let the nurse take you and Ninetails for awhile," Jess told him, setting the Misdreavus on the bed and taking their Pokéballs out of her bag. "While Missie's resting in here, you guys can rest in there… and get all healed up and healthy. And I'll be napping!" she added jovially.

The Ninetails raised his head and cried his inquisitive excitement out loud.

"Yes we will!" the trainer laughed. "The adventure doesn't stop here! You should know me better than that," she teased, reminiscing of all the times they had gone out together on their own mini-quests, long before Jess's dream of capturing the ghosts had surfaced… Such pleasant memories… Oh the times they had had together…

The fox nodded contentedly.

"All right, in ya go," Jess said, clicking open both Pokéballs and watching intently as her first two Pokémon ever became beams of red light, and shot into their respective capsules. She was getting better at avoiding the thought, but for some reason she always worried that something would hurt them in there…

The Murkrow let out a soft note of inquisition. Usually she put him in his Pokéball with the other two.

"You can probably just stay in here and catch up on your sleep, you didn't do much in the forest since we joined up…" This was only half the reason she didn't want to take him to the nurse; actually it was a lot less than half, most of her logic was in the fact that he and Mismagius obviously did something interesting last night – what it was, she had no clue, but she didn't want to separate them. It was one of her personal virtues: When there's a chance to bond, you take it and nurture the relationship every chance you get.

After leaving the two in the nurse's care and sleeping through the morning and half of the afternoon (the remaining three Pokémon weren't the only ones still trying to adjust to actually seeing the sunlight), Jess woke up the Misdreavus and redressed the bandage on her back, told the ghost to sleep if she felt like it, and then she picked up her Pidgeotto and Ninetails and released them in the room once more.

"Missie, take it easy!" she said, almost laughing affectionately as the ghost began stretching and winced.

The Misdreavus sank back down onto the bed and muttered a soft note of ready agreement.

"Yeah, that's gonna take at least until tomorrow to heal enough for you to fly freely again… And with the way you were playing with Mismagius yesterday – " The other ghost lifted her eyelid sleepily at her name. " – I'd say that you really should let yourself rest… That was probably pretty strenuous, for how soon it is after the injury…"

The Misdreavus nodded her understanding, and the Mismagius closed her eyes again.

"I know that's probably hard for you, you're pretty energetic."

"Mis," she replied, nodding emphatically.

"Oh, trust me, I now exactly how you feel!"

The ghost nodded again.

Jess smiled at her tenderly.

The Mismagius sighed in her half-sleep, and the Misdreavus turned to her curiously.

Jess chuckled softly. "I guess she's more nocturnal than the rest of us…"

"Murkrow," the bird pointed out quietly, lifting his head only to make note of that one observation before putting his head back under his wing.

Jess giggled, then leaned close to the ghost and whispered, "Did you notice his crown was more fluffy than usual?"

The bird grumbled something incoherent.

Jess smiled knowingly and said, in the fondest of tone, "He's so vain."

The Misdreavus nodded her agreement.

Then the ghost blinked, confused, and turned to the sleeping Mismagius.

Jess saw her actions immediately and followed her gaze. And her expression became investigative as well.

The Murkrow wasn't the only one mumbling.

"I hope she's not giving herself nightmares," Jess murmured, sincerely concerned for the subtle tone of anxiety on her voice. Since she was turned against the wall, her expression was invisible to them, but the sounds gave them a pretty good idea of what it would be like.

"Mis…?"

"I don't see why she couldn't," the trainer replied in a whisper.

"Misdreavus…?" The small Misdreavus's tone was a little concerned.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine.. Even if it _is _a bad dream, it can't be that horrible… Look, see? She's done."

The little ghost sounded a quiet note of uncertainty and turned her head up to the trainer.

"Knowing how most Mismagius are with their abilities…her subconscious probably just pulled her out of it."

That wasn't exactly the reason – in truth, the ghost had just startled herself awake – not that she was ready to let them _know_ she was awake…

Yes, the Mismagius's instincts had stopped the murmurs, but for a reason other than what they believed. It had become a reflex to prevent the incidents that had been trailing the Mismagius's sleep since her all-too-soon evolution… The ghost closed her eyes just a bit tighter, an uneasiness rising within her as she tried to fight back the nervous and fearful thoughts.

The trainer tilted her head at the Ninetails on the other bed – his ears were pricked and his eyes alert.

She turned back to the Mismagius, starting to feel a bit uncertain about what she had just said.

The Misdreavus muttered a small sound of concern.

"She looks tense," Jess observed softly.

The Misdreavus let out another high note.

"Misma," the other sighed, then she added a reassuring note as she lifted herself off the bed and turned to them.

The Misdreavus looked at her contemplatively. "Drea…"

"Misma," the other reassured her once more, adding a small smile this time.

"I'm still not convinced you're relaxed," Jess told her with affectionate concern.

Mismagius bowed her head, then turned her head to the window. The blinds were still down, and she couldn't see it, but the acute pain of the homesickness was welling too swiftly for her to not remember what lies just beyond them.

A view of the place she called home.

But now that she was with this trainer, this _traveler,_ where was home now…?

Jess sighed. "You look so heartbroken… and you're breaking my heart, too…"

The Mismagius turned to the trainer questioningly.

"I know exactly what it's like, to feel trapped and like you've lost everything… You can ask Ninetails, that's half the reason we were so close… I was always wanting to go on an adventure, to explore, to not stay trapped in the house… but my parents wouldn't let me because of all the chaos going on, all the fear in the world… it changes everything when you know what others think and what kind of situations might be just around the corner…"

The ghost bowed her head desolately. She knew exactly how true every bit of that was…

The trainer sighed softly, faintly wondering if she had her hat cover her eyes on purpose when she did that. "You know, you're not trapped, I hope you know that…"

The ghost lifted her head just a bit.

"I don't want you to feel like I'm holding you with me against your will. I want us to be friends, partners, not master and servant."

The ghost let her head slip down again. Part of her wanted to believe the trainer, but most of her mind pushed those thoughts aside and easily overcame her.

She suddenly because tense with the sentiments of her memories, and she would have slipped back to those times if Jess hadn't pulled her out of the air.

The Mismagius let out a startled note and froze.

"Take it easy," Jess soothed, stroking the ghost's back with one infinitely gentle hand. "Trust me, I won't hurt you…"

But the problem was that the ghost _didn't _trust her, and she began shifting nervously in her arms.

"Hey, calm down, please, take it easy," Jess crooned, her expression patient yet slightly alarmed. "Calm down, at least try to – Here, I just want to try something, Mismagius…"

The ghost stopped and blinked up at the trainer warily, tensing and ready to teleport herself away if something –

The Mismagius was quite startled when Jess put her on the bed and told her to take it easy – again.

"Mis…?" The Misdreavus turned to her companion as Jess sat on the bed, her back against the wall, and she ran her finger down the Mismagius's face delicately. "Just relax, okay?"

The ghost shivered at how… unbelievably… _gentle_ her touch was… She had never known that humans could touch her without –

Her previous thoughts were even further disproved as Jess began lengthening her strokes to extend all the way down her cheek and onto her throat. And she shivered again, hardly believing how the finger barely brushed along her and almost tickled…

Jess smiled. "So I guess it does work then, huh?"

The ghost looked up at her, her expression confused – at least it was until the trainer began applying nearly undetectable amounts of pressure with her strokes. Then she sank into a puzzled contentment.

"I'm the one who should be confused," Jess told her with a wispy voice, as if she was becoming detached as she began rubbing the ghost's hat with a circular motion.

The Mismagius couldn't hold back a tiny, pleased smile.

"So _you_ tell _me_. How does it feel?"

The ghost murmured a noise that almost sounded like a purr.

Jess chuckled softly. "I know it's probably not exactly professional, but…"

Mismagius opened her mouth and tried to speak, but something had become entrancing as Jess began shifting her hands from her hat to its brim, to the small forms jutting off of it, and then moving down her back, and all in one smooth motion too… It was too enthralling for her to speak, and all that came out was a slightly bewildered note.

The trainer smiled. "So do you like it?"

The ghost nodded once, faintly but surely.

"Okay, that's good to know, it _does _actually work… It's kind of a family secret, kind of not… Certain kinds of pressure help relieve certain kinds of mental tension… Maybe now you can actually get some real sleep…"

The ghost suddenly opened her eyes, anxiety flitting through them for a second before she closed them again and let out a tense note.

Jess pulled her hands away and began stroking her again. "I guess it's not something you can get rid of that easily then, huh…?"

The ghost shook her head and shivered – this time an actual full-on shiver.

Jess sighed. "Relaxed but not relieved," she muttered, a sympathetic expression crossing her eyes.

The ghost shook her head, all of the thoughts she had been trying to suppress rushing forth again and completely shutting away the momentary relaxation. The difference was that his time she was confusing herself, trying to decipher exactly what thoughts had gone through her mind, how or why she had let her guard down… if she had actually thought that everything was at peace, if for only a second…

"Do you think that you can maybe try getting a little more rest?" Jess offered, sounding almost afraid to ask.

The ghost shook her head.

"What's wrong? You can trust me." Though she knew better than to expect a new team member to trust her so much, it was always nice to get a solid ground of understanding. "It looks like something's really bothering you…"

The Mismagius suddenly felt desperately self-conscious. Being a solitary creature by both species and nature, the Mismagius had never had to worry about being observed, let alone questioned, and she couldn't help feeling exposed and helpless in this whole new situation, a whole new world.

The one with a trainer.

She didn't respond, and she turned her head down into the bed.

Jess blinked, a teeny, tiny, microscopic part of her wanting to giggle. It would have been amusing if this was a television show, some kind of jovial scenario trying to play itself out with entertainment in mind. No, this was serious. The ghost's reaction was… odd, she had never seen a Pokémon do that before (burying her head…?) but the trainer told herself sternly that now wasn't the time to play Murky. She sighed, and then she began comfortingly stroking the top part of her hat, starting just below the uppermost pink cluster and moving downwards… unable to stop herself from noticing that the ghost's tension only multiplied… but also not wanting to not let the Mismagius know that she was here, ready to listen whenever she was ready to talk.

And then she noticed something completely random and seemingly unimportant: the group of spikes protruding off the back of the hat's brim were darker, duller than the rest, and they curled downwards at the end.

_What happened with - ?_

"Are all Mismagius like this?" she asked, touching the curled ends with her fingertips, brushing them as delicately as possible –

Obviously it wasn't gentle enough.

Shockwaves of fear shot through the ghost's body for barely a moment before she bolted up with a yelp and veered to the corner of the room, shivering and whimpering faintly as the flashbacks finally broke through her mental floodgates.

Jess was stunned. "She looks _traumatized…_"

"Mis…?" The Misdreavus let the soft, high note escape saturated in concerned curiosity.

The Mismagius didn't, _couldn't_, reply. She bowed her head and closed her eyes tightly, trying to lock out the vivid images, the memories clear enough to almost recast her into those situations… _the pain…_

The ghost shuddered and let out a soft gasping noise, leaning her body against the corner and huddling into it, her head still bowed and her eyes still closed as she tried desperately to force it away, get a hold of herself...

"Misdreavus," the smaller ghost muttered, ignoring the ache in her back and taking to the air. She didn't even wince as she glided to her friend's side.

The Mismagius shifted uncomfortably. But then, somehow the offer of comfort and the desperation of her memories caused a sudden recourse, and her memories snapped to a totally different time, and she began mumbling a lullaby her mother used to murmur in desperate times, not realizing that she was chanting the syllables exactly as her mother had.

The Misdreavus leaned her body onto the Mismagius, feeling suddenly relaxed by the smooth flow of the notes, the seamless way the sounds ebbed and flowed as if they were more of a river than a song, carrying them away to a place of peace, away from all the tension…

The trainer blinked, a bit confused at first by the Mismagius's sudden change of mood, but then she sighed and let herself relax. The song was almost ethereal, the notes weaving a veil blocking all other thoughts from the mind, the only thing she could possibly think about was the ghostly music…

The Ninetails and Pidgeotto on the other bed tilted their heads in unison, an instinctual reaction to get a better perception of the sound, and their expressions became distant, almost drowsy, entranced…

Murky mumbled a soft note and closed his eyes, his mind wanting to replay the song not by note as it continued on, but not needing to.

Every wordless line, every noteless measure, was only a repeating of the first few notes, and they played on and on, over and over, with only the slightest variations, repeating like a mantra, a prayer, a chant…

The Mismagius suddenly gasped a sharp, airy note and halted the singing, tearing everyone in the room from their hypnotic state and shaking her head violently.

"What on Earth - ?!" Jess began, suddenly wondering what she had just done and why she stopped so suddenly.

"Mismagi, Mis, Mismagi," the ghost mumbled, her eyes shut tightly and still faintly shaking her head.

"Are you okay?" Jess asked urgently, sensing her sudden anxiety.

"Mis," the ghost mumbled, not wanting to let the trainer see exactly what was going on – she had never been able to let a human know what was going on and she wasn't about to start now, she simply wouldn't risk it. "Mis, Mismagi…"

Jess sighed. "You don't look that fine to _me_…"

The Murkrow tilted his head, then he fluttered to the end of the bed and cawed out to her softly, and he mumbled a few notes too quietly for the others to hear.

"Mis," the ghost muttered, closing her eyes decidedly and taking a position of confidence.

"Krow," the bird told her, reminding her…

The ghost shrugged, then she moved over to him and whispered something so quietly that he could barely hear her himself, and she turned to his face with every bit of seriousness in her gaze.

"Murkrow," he sighed, then fluttered over to Jess and landed on her shoulder. "Mur, murkrow," he whispered to his trainer, and lighted on her arm when she held it out for him.

"Uh… Okay, I kinda guessed that she would need time, it's pretty much a given, but… Exactly how long are we talking…?"

"_Murkrow,"_ he told her emphatically.

Jess sighed, then she glanced at the ghost and shrugged.

"Well, whatever it takes," she told both of them, stating her determination and letting the corners of her mouth tilt up a bit. "If there's one thing I won't give up on it's a Pokémon…"

"Magi," the ghost murmured, her gaze on the trainer scrutinizing and wary.

"You'll see eventually," Jess told her gently, realizing she would have to bring all her careful patience into play with this one.

The ghost's expression changed, slightly and barely noticeably, but Jess caught it before the ghost turned her head away and expelled a soft note, voicing her disbelief as obviously as possible.

Jess nodded. "Okay, ignore me if it makes you feel better," she said with another shrug, finding it ironic how she only wanted to get closer and the Mismagius only wanted to get away, but it seemed like they had something in common here… Whenever Jess was upset, the last thing she wanted to do was let other people see it, and anyone who tried prying ended up with nothing but a glare.

"Okay, well, since an interrogation probably won't do me any good, I should probably call home, I bet my family wants to know how everything went…"

The Murkrow tilted his head, suddenly a bit confused.

Jess laughed. "Today I get to introduce you three – being Murky, Missie, and the silent one over there – to my family!"

"Misdreavus?" the smaller ghost asked, blinking curiously.

"Well, sort of… Technically it's not person-to-person, but you still get to talk in… what-do-you-call-it, 'real time' I think… Well, it's over the PC. So, you guys ready to meet the rest of my family?"

"Misdrea?" The Misdreavus lifted her head excitedly, then winced as the injury flared into a sharp searing pain.

"Take it easy over there," Jess said, fast-walking across the room and taking the ghost into her arms. "And yes, I meant "the rest of" as in you guys are the other part."

The Misdreavus looked up and blinked at the trainer's face, then she smiled and nodded, muttering a soft, high note of heartfelt thanks.

Jess nodded. "I really mean it…"

The Misdreavus nodded back and shifted a bit, nestling herself comfortably in the trainer's arms and closing her eyes, resolving that this really was the trainer that would give her the life she craved – or at least used to. As far as she had imagined, she was living the perfect life right now, in the arms of a trainer that truly cared about her, and every day it seemed to become more and more obvious – come to think of it, it had been obvious that she actually cared the moment they met.

"Okay, everyone ready?"

The Ninetails and Pidgeotto jumped off the bed and hurried to her side with calls of eagerness, the Murkrow nodded with a note of confirmation, and the cradled Misdreavus squealed a note of excitement. Only the Mismagius stayed silent.

"You coming?" Jess asked softly.

The ghost blinked, glanced at the Misdreavus in her arms, then she hovered hesitantly to the trainer's side.

"Alright, we're all here, and off we go," she said, lifting another arm for the Pidgeotto to perch on, and she led the group out of the room after the Ninetails used his teeth to open the door. (It's amazing what ideas a boring summer day can lead to.)

After glancing around the lobby quickly to make sure there wasn't anyone waiting to use the open PC, Jess sat down and logged in.

The image appeared with Jess's youngest sister looking excited – and holding that Glameow in her arms, as always (regardless of how much their family Pokémon squirmed), and with Jess's little brother calling "I wanted to get it!"

"Oh, will you put that poor cat down?" Jess told her, playfully scolding for old times sake.

"_Down-down, cat down!"_ the youngest sibling's Chatot mimicked in her squawking voice.

"That would be Jess," the first adult voice of the day announced as she walked in from the kitchen.

"Yes it is," the trainer confirmed. "Hi mom."

"Hello Jess," she replied, pushing her shoulder-length and dark brown hair out of the way – at least, dark brown was today's color; she had died her hair so many times that it was impossible to know exactly what color she was born with – the ever-so-wonderful threat of going gray being the cause. "So? What've you been up to?"

Jess shrugged, playfully feigning boredom. "Oh, nothing much, just achieving my dream and setting down the stones for my career."

"Well if that's all – "

"_Espeon!"_

The lavender cat-like creature jumped up and licked the screen.

Jess giggled.

The Ninetails by her feet stood up on his hind feet and put his paws on the keypad for a second, nodding his greeting to the family before returning to his trainer's side.

"Ninetails says hi."

"I can't see!" the brother complained. "Move over!"

Jess sighed as they began a shove fest, both trying to get the best view possible and getting pretty frustrated.

"How about you stand here, you stand here," the mother said with parental sternness, placing each of them so that they could both see and both could be part of the mini-reunion.

"The best of friends and the worst of enemies," Jess sighed, remembering how she had once been with _her_ closest sibling… until…

"So, Jess, you look tired. Anything wrong?"

"Oh, no, nothing! Everything's great!" Jess replied, perking up immediately as her mind began recounting the incidents before her mouth could. "I just went nocturnal a few days ago, and I'm still getting used to daylight."

"Nocturnal, huh?"

Jess nodded.

The brother pretended to bring a cape over his face, and he said, "Are you becoming a werewolf?" he asked, hissing as she chuckled in response.

"_Vampires _hiss like that. Werewolves are more like a, _Aroooooooo!"_

The Murkrow on her arm started at her sudden burst of sound as she tilted her head back, and the Ninetails looked up at her quizzically.

The Mismagius, having never even heard those words before, blinked, utterly confused and wondering what that noise had been for.

The Misdreavus faked a shudder, elaborating the eerie atmosphere – she _had_ seen a few of the movies that Marie's father watched…

"So what made you become a creature of the night?"

"I was born," Jess said, raising her eyebrows.

"Would it be any different if you were hatched?"

Jess chuckled, adding a pretend mischievous tone. "Oh mother, if only you knew," she told her, faking a small evil laugh.

The Mismagius rolled her eyes. She could barely stand being around one human, but four?

"So, why did you choose to go nocturnal?"

"Weeeell… This is where the introductions come in. Remember those Pokémon that I kept obsessing over before I actually left home…?"

"You mean the ghosts?" the brother asked, adding a "spooky" ghost noise that he heard on a Halloween decoration last year.

The Mismagius's eyes narrowed, suddenly indignated and realizing that she could be a _hundred _times eerier than _that_ cruel mockery… It was so typical of a human, to make up a noise and label it as "ghostly". It sounded more like someone was strangling a Hoothoot.

"No, actually, they don't sound anything like that," Jess pointed out.

The Mismagius started, then she shook her head and turned away from the screen, still slightly bewildered.

"But yes," Jess continued, "the ghosts. I caught them a couple night ago!" And she lifted the Misdreavus up so they could see her a bit more clearly.

"_Murkrow!"_

Jess chuckled at the bird. "Soon. Well, this is Missie, isn't she so cute?"

The little sister put her clasped hands to her cheek. "Awwww, she is," at the exact same time the little brother said "Yeah she is!" Then they turned to each other and said, in stereo once more, _"Jinx!_"

"So who owes who the soda this time?" Jess asked jovially.

"He does!"

"She does!"

Another round of same-timing each other.

But then the younger sister broke the cycle. "Jessie?"

"What-ie?"

"Why are you holding her like that?"

"I thought you said ghosts weren't cuddly," the mother pointed put.

"This one is," Jess replied, smiling down at Missie affectionately. "Besides, she hurt her back really badly the other night, and hovering like _she_ is – " she nodded to the Mismagius – "puts stress on her back and might only make it worse."

"Who?"

"You can't see her?" Jess asked, just then realizing that the Mismagius had been staying apart from the group and probably wasn't in their view. "Hey, Mismagius, don't be shy," she called over her shoulder. "Don't worry, they won't bite."

"Magi," the ghost mumbled softly, wondering why Jess bothered showing her off.

"Mis…?" The Misdreavus shifted and looked at the Mismagius. "Misdreavus…"

"Mis…?" The larger ghost sighed, then she inched through the air and settled near the trainer.

"You know, you're a member of this group too," Jess crooned.

The Mismagius debated whether that was a good thing or bad…

"She doesn't look too happy," the mother observed.

She's just not used to people I guess," Jess shrugged. "She's not always this unhappy, I know she was smiling yesterday when she was playing with Missie… She was staring out the window every chance she had this morning, maybe she's homesick… Or maybe she's just tired… The ghosts and Murky are all nocturnal, that's the whole reason I switched – "

"Muuu-uuur. Krooow."

"Okay, alright, _have patience_, Murky! Well, Mister Can-Never-Wait over here is Murky, I caught him a few weeks ago. And as you can tell, he likes being the center of attention."

"_Attention!"_ the Chatot echoed.

"Yeah, that."

"What kinda Pokémon is he?" the older of the two siblings asked.

"He is a Murkrow, one of my favorite kinds of all."

"Does he fly?"

"Duh, he's got wings doesn't he? Wings with actual feathers?"

"My Shinx can so take him down!"

"When did you get a Shinx?"

"Daddy gave him to me!"

Then the sister called out excitedly, "And he gave me a Love Fish!"

"A wha…? You mean a Luvdisc?"

"Yeah!"

"They wanted their own Pokémon teams too," the mother sighed, "just like you."

"But Mommy and Daddy won't let us have more than three," the brother grumbled, obviously downcast.

"And they won't even give us all three at once!"

"Well…" Jess shrugged with a half-smile; she never knew how to react when it came to their mimicry… She was proud that they saw her actions as worthy of imitation, but it took away so much of her feelings of accomplishment, feeling like she was the only one…

"I'm glad that you were able to achieve your dreams…"

"It's not done yet!" Jess corrected her hurriedly. "I've still gotta train them and teach them how to act and make sure they don't be destructive cuz I plan on letting the new ones stay out and I – "

"Take it easy!" The mother laughed. "I'm just so proud of you… Going out on your own and chasing your dream without a doubt, and then actually accomplishing your goals… I told you that you could do anything you set your mind to…" She sighed, a loving smile on her face. "You're growing up so fast…"

"Thanks." Jess grinned and nodded, her expression hopefully conveying her sincere appreciation.

Then the caramel-colored bird nibbled on Jess's ear tenderly.

Jess giggled, too lost in the moment to notice his expression and the way he was fluffing his wings.

Knowing exactly where her mind was, the Ninetails barked up at her, one short and sharp note bringing her back.

"Yeah?"

"Mur, Mur, Murkrow!" The black bird began bobbing his head, displaying his impatience.

"Okay, I get it!" she told them, laughing as she spoke. "I've gotta go, these guys are getting hungry."

"Okay, well, just know that however long you're gone, I'll always love you just as much as ever, and no number of Pokémon in this house will ever replace you."

"Aww, thanks," Jess smiled. "I love you too."

"Love you!" both siblings said in harmony, and the Chatot repeated it as well.

"I love you guys too."

"Hugs and kisses – "

"Hugs right back," Jess added softly.

"Mur - !"

"Okay, bye, love you all!" Jess told them, then she waved, nodded as the others waved back, and switched off the PC.

"Murkrow?"

"Yes Murky, we're going to get dinner now."

"Krow," he replied, his tone dripping with relief as Jess started off down the hall.

"Misdreavus?"

"Yep, that's my family… but only part of it… My dad was at work… I'll have to send him a message later, Pidgeotto knows the way… So what're you in the mood for today?"

The Murkrow immediately launched into his idea of a gourmet dinner.

"That's a little lavish for a Pokécenter, don't you think…?" Jess asked, her eyebrows high.

"Murkrow," the bird shrugged.

"And what about you guys, what kind of food do you like?"

The Misdreavus in her arms tilted her head in contemplation – she had never really had that much variety…

"What kind of berries do you like?"

The ghost tilted her head the other way, still trying to recall what she had eaten back when she was in the forest.

"Not sure?"

The ghost shook her head.

Jess still smiled. "That's okay, we'll just have to let you try every kind of berry I can get my hands on tomorrow," Jess said. "Tomorrow, when I'm stocking up on everything else… Hm… Do you even really eat that many berries…? The Pokédex says… Have you guys ever eaten anything besides, well, fear…?"

The Mismagius, lingering behind the group once more, shook her head. But the Misdreavus nodded.

"I wonder how you guys can get the proper nutrition… It's always seemed to me like fear is pretty important to you guys… and I only get scared in the right situation…Does it have to be actual _fear_, or can it be, I dunno, an adrenaline rush, or just nerves or something…? Maybe if I watch the right movies…"

The Misdreavus in her arms nodded with a note of reassurance.

"Okay, good."

But the Mismagius bowed her head, a small bit of embarrassment and dread sparking in her mind. She was unable to keep herself from thinking that the trainer's plans of induced fear wouldn't be necessary… she had a feeling that soon there'd be _more _than enough to go around… all it would take would be one slip up –

She shook her head and grit her teeth, forcing herself to focus and to not let that happen. The last thing she needed was to let herself become nervous, those kinds of emotions led to nothing more than disaster… She had to stay focused, stay in control. Even if it meant denying her nature, she couldn't let it happen again. She _wouldn't._

"Coming?" Jess asked, glancing over her shoulder as she turned the corner; the ghost had almost missed the turn and would have wandered down the hall alone.

Mismagius's head shot up, and she hurried around the turn with an expression of shock, startled from being pulled so suddenly out of her thoughts.

Jess blinked at the Mismagius as she slowed and they started off once more. "You okay?"

She looked up at the trainer, saw the concern and could almost feel it… but she also felt a bit of unease rise within her, and she went with her instinct and plastered on an expression of aloof numbness.

Jess blinked at her again, her worry doubling but not wanting that to show. The Mismagius was really starting to worry her… but she wouldn't pry, she refused to. Rushing a bond and forcing out secrets was like picking unripe berries: some people liked the bitterness that came with it, but it's always better when time ripened the situation.

She began stroking the Misdreavus's hair out of habit, subconsciously realizing that there it was again – she was masking whatever was really going on. The realization was from the dark, quiet corners of her mind, but the puzzled concern lingered as obviously within as it ever had.

"Only time can tell," she murmured, so quietly that she could barely hear herself – but the Misdreavus heard her muttering, glanced up, and saw the concern, and she glanced at the Mismagius curiously. And she was suddenly wondering why her friend was so uneasy as well… but, being a creature of nature, she was able to sense that it wasn't necessarily the Mismagius's personality to be so ill at ease, but something… something beyond that, something different… She glanced up at Jess and blinked, then she shifted a bit and nestled into a comfortable position. She couldn't help thinking that this trainer would probably be able to help… eventually… There was just something so warm, so welcoming and accepting in the way she held them, the way she talked, even the smooth, rhythmatic way she walked, so much like a lullaby… She had faith in this trainer. Real, genuine, sincere faith that she wouldn't let them down.

She yawned, still not completely caught up on he sleep, and she let her mind wander off… and it wasn't long before she had drifted to the quiet and contented sleep that had been eluding her for more days than she could count, because now she was in the hands of someone she trusted, and that made her so much more comfortable – literally as well as figuratively.


	7. A Whole New Journey

_**A Work of Magic**_

_**Chapter 6: A Whole New Journey  
**_

"This is Eterna City, right?" Jess asked the nurse at the counter the next day after a hurried breakfast.

"That's right," she replied with a small nod.

"Okay, got it," Jess muttered, making a mental note of it. "So, uh, could you tell me how to get to the nearest PokéMart?"

"Of course! Just go directly south from here, and it's on the left side of the road."

"Oh, that's simple… Thanks!" Jess called, waving quickly before nodding for her team to follow.

Jess couldn't help jovially thinking that they must have been quite a sight – the trainer was holding both her arms out, one bird perched on each arm, Ninetails at her heel, Missie in the crook of her arm – the arm Pidgeotto was on, and the Mismagius trailing all of them hesitantly.

"You guys are so lucky, not many people keep all of their Pokémon out as much as I do – few people even keep _one_ out, let alone their entire traveling company!"

The Murkrow nodded. "Mur, murkrow," he said, sleepily voicing his thanks before going back to preening.

"Do you _ever _stop doing that?" Jess asked his playfully as Ninetails used his head to open the door and let her pass before trotting back to her side. "Thanks, Ninetails."

The fox-like Pokémon nodded, pricking his ears as they ventured forward in the unfamiliar territory of Eterna City.

"Mis…" The larger ghost blinked wondrously as she glanced around – the path they were walking on was made of square stones, how did that happen…? And the sky was so… _blue! _Never before had she seen such a bright, vibrant color, except maybe when she had seen a Misdreavus use something with a bright flash, and the sun, the daytime moon as her family called it… It burned her eyes to look at it, but it was so… was there even a word for it…?

The black bird used his feet to scratch an itch on his neck, then he tilted his crowned head at the trainer. "Mur, murkrow… mur…?" He seemed almost nervous.

Jess smiled reassuringly. "No, it's not annoying, I was just wondering. Why would it be annoying?"

He shrugged, mumbling something about Honchkrow.

"Do you have something against your own evolved form?" Jess asked, noticing his unusually bitter tone immediately.

"Mmmm… Murkrow."

"Maybe, maybe yes," Jess said, raising her eyebrows knowingly as she lead the group into the blue building. "Hey, Mismagius, you'll blind yourself if you keep staring at that."

"Mis," the ghost suddenly almost yelped, only now realizing that they had gone into the building and rushing after them. And as soon as she was in the threshold, she slowed to a stop and began staring at everything with wide eyes. She had never seen so many colors in one place before, or so much organization… or anything even remotely like this place…

"Misdreavus!" the other ghost yelped, suddenly excited – she had always loved exploring new places with her friends, and this was the newest place she had ever been in. She began wriggling in the trainer's arms, eager to get up and inspect every single –

Jess chuckled as she picked up a plastic basket. "Okay, I'll let you go… but first you have to answer me one question."

The ghost looked up at her eagerly.

"Does this hurt?" She pricked the ghost's back with a finger gently but suddenly, and the ghost yelped.

"Okay, sorry Missie, but you're still not ready to move on your own."

"Mis…" The ghost blinked, a little disappointed, but after glancing around again her spirits were lifted again by the curiosity rising with every new item they passed. "Misdreavus!"

The trainer laughed, closing her eyes and smiling fully. "It's interesting, isn't it? How much there is? Okay, let's see, I need… Potions, antidotes, every kind of healing item they have in stock, grooming supplies for Ninetails, a few ingredients for everyone, I can get water by the stream in the forest…"

The Mismagius, now lagging quite a few feet behind the rest, snapped her head to the trainer immediately. Not many humans knew about the small river in the forest… Come to think of it, she had _never_ seen a human by the stream in her entire lifetime. And her mother had actually said that the river was far too deep in the forest for most humans to travel to… There just seemed to be no end to the surprises with this human…

Jess noticed her startled attentiveness, and she blinked at the ghost. "You wouldn't _mind,_ would you?"

The ghost shook her head, blinking at her inquisitively.

"I don't usually like traveling along the actual paths, they always go away from all of the intimate nature…" She hoped that at least _kind of_ answered her question.

The Mismagius blinked back, thinking how it was actually the other way around, then she sighed an airy note and turned away from Jess.

The trainer shrugged and continued on down the aisle, pulling a few supplements off the shelves for the birds and Ninetails before turning and walking along the back of the store, pulling off at least five of the ice heals, burn heals, awakenings, and nearly two dozen paralyze heals and antidotes for the trip through the forest. "Okay, that should do for the healing supplies…"

"Muuurkrow," the bird muttered sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure," Jess replied.

After a few more steps, the Misdreavus blinked and craned her neck, looking over Jess's shoulder to see her companion and noticed how behind she was, how distant she seemed, and she cried out to the Mismagius softly.

The Mismagius turned to her and replied with a soft note, reassuring her that she was still paying attention to them and not getting lost in thought.

But then the trainer turned to her to smile, and the Mismagius tensed and turned away immediately, pretending to be interested in a box of Pika-Pellets.

Jess shrugged, then gasped and jumped aside; she had almost collided with a young woman that had a small Flareon at her heels.

"Whoa, sorry," Jess apologized hurriedly as they met eyes.

"That's okay," she said with a smile. "No harm, no foul."

"Okay," Jess replied with an awkward smile.

The Flareon at her heels growled at Ninetails, and all the fox had to do was stare at him, and the young fire-type ran behind his trainer's legs and whimpered.

"Aww, Ninetails, be nice," she scolded softly as he sat with an elegantly satisfied pose. "He's not usually competitive like that," Jess told the other as she stroked his mane.

"Nine," he told his trainer calmly.

"Oh. Well… He's like me, he won't bite, but if you mess with us, then, well," Jess said with a shrug. "We'll mess back."

The other laughed. "This little guy's too brave for his own good, he just likes to take on anything – but then he chickens out the minute it actually becomes a challenge," she laughed.

"Flareon!" the little creature cried defensively.

"Murkrow," Jess's bird told him, and the Flareon peeked around his trainer's knees and glared at the bird. Then he glanced at the Ninetails again and almost shrunk back – but the larger fire-type stepped to him and licked his head.

Both trainers chuckled as the smaller one shook his head and stared at the Ninetails, obviously confused.

"Misdreavus!" the ghost in Jess's arm squealed playfully.

"Oh, hi there," the other trainer greeted. "Didn't see that one."

"I guess she's a little shy," Jess told her with a tender tone.

Missie nodded sheepishly and let out a couple of note of greeting.

"Hello to you too," the other smiled.

The Misdreavus smiled back.

"Quiet, too," the other observed.

"That's one of their charms – ghost-types, I mean… Most of them at least."

"I've never really liked ghost-types much," the other said. "I'm way more of a fire-type kinda girl."

Jess shrugged. "That's obvious," she said jovially, referring to her short red hair and energetic air. "I prefer ghost types, they're so much easier for me to get along with…"

"Looks like you have more birds than anything."

"No, there's another ghost over there," Jess said. "She's just not very sociable."

"Okay then…" Then she glanced at her Pokétch and suddenly grabbed a few boxes. "I gotta get going, I'm on a time schedule!" she said as she hurried towards the counter.

"Bye," Jess mumbled, thinking _It's a good thing she's so active then…_

The Mismagius yelped softly as the girl rushed past and tore her out of her fascinated trance, and she barely managed to move out of her way before the trainer rushed right into her. "Mis," she murmured frostily, watching the Flareon as he struggled to keep up.

"Mismagius," Jess called softly, pulling her attention back to them so she wouldn't get lost in this big place as she turned down the aisle that held all their preferred foods in it, plucking the containers off the shelves with expert ease.

"Let's see… So those are the usuals…" She glanced up and down the aisle, thinking about what else they could use. "And these should work until I can actually get some fresh berries." She picked a few bags of dried berries and scanned the ingredients, looking for whichever one had the most variety. _Let's see, Murky likes dry food, Pidgeotto likes sweet, Ninetails eats whatever… Aguav, Pecha, and Razz berries, but nothing dry… _ "Hm… Oh, this one'll work! There's at least three of every flavor here… and they all have some kind of healing associated with them too! Great – And the votes have been cast, we have a _winner!_"

Another trainer peeked around the shelves to see what on earth was going on.

Jess waved innocently. "Just picking dried berries," she told him.

"Weirdo," he muttered, going back to his own shopping list.

"And proud of it," Jess whispered cheerfully to the Misdreavus as they headed for the counter.

The ghost smiled up at her trainer.

"You smile a lot," Jess observed.

"Mis," she replied, nodding emphatically. What was there _not _to smile about?

Jess chuckled, then she glanced back at the Mismagius yet again.

She was gliding hesitantly down the aisle, stopping warily to inspect every single trainer she passed before rushing past them and staying as close to the opposite shelf as possible.

Jess couldn't help thinking about how different the two ghosts were… Missie seemed to enjoy it when people actually acknowledged her presence, she was shy but friendly, and obviously enjoyed having human company… but the Mismagius… not so much. Whenever a trainer turned her way curiously, she froze and her entire body tensed before she bowed her head with her hat covering her eyes and hurried away.

The trainer smiled sympathetically; she knew exactly what it was like to not quite enjoy being around people… she was like that herself. And she was certain that the ghost had a wild heart, she had a feeling that if anyone tried to get her to live life in a Pokéball, the Mismagius would fight for her life and then escape the moment opportunity presented itself. And she resolved that the Mismagius wouldn't be _her_ Pokémon - that indicates ownership and makes it sound like the ghost is a mere object, something to be possessed and owned - and she wouldn't be the ghost's master because that made it sound like the Mismagius was her slave, but they'd have to be friends, partners.

She had always thought like that and always refused to talk about her teammates like that, but she would have to be especially delicate with the Mismagius if she wanted any chance of getting close; the way the ghost had left them on that second day was proof that one wrong word could turn everything upside-down.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

After stopping at the Eterna City Herb Shop (and reassuring her Pokémon that if you brew the herbs into tea and add enough drops of Sweet Honey and maybe some cinnamon, the bitter taste seems to vanish), Jess had taken them right back to the Pokécenter. Now they were all in the room, comfortably situated and waiting for Jess to finish her sentence as she pulled the drawstring and let the sunlight pour into the room. " – and the one and only time it ever happened, it was like 'Whoa!' So, yeah… That's why Ninetails is the only Fire-type I've ever been able to stand. When you get too many, and if you have my personality – more Earth-type than anything – things just get… uncomfortable."

Ninetails nodded, remembering that day… Jess had gotten a _little_ too close to a young and riled-up Cyndaquil.

"Murkrow," the black bird cawed, his laughter barely held back; it was still audible in his tone.

The smaller ghost hovering above the bed tilted her head, wondering exactly how a human could be Earth-type…and the Mismagius next to her blinked, suddenly remembering her expression and plastering a bored look just before the trainer turned back to them.

"Okay, well, now you know. I don't usually talk to people anyways, so… Well, what about you guys?"

"Mis?" The Misdreavus blinked inquisitively.

"I want to get to know you! I mean, I know what species you are, what attacks you can learn, all that typical trainer stuff… but I want to know you guys as individuals, I want to know the real Pokémon, the true beings behind the facts." Jess smiled, her eyes seeming to light up at the thought. "Not like you guys are some ancient language that needs to be deciphered or anything… so… Missie?"

The little ghost's eyes widened as everyone turned to her, Ninetails and Pidgeotto tilting their heads expectantly. She blushed and smiled sheepishly – realizing that she had no idea why she was the center of attention.

Jess smiled softly, making a mental note that Missie seems to be timid even with her own team… "Missie," she began comfortingly, "we're just hoping to know a bit about you, no need to be so nervous."

The Misdreavus tilted her head. "Mis…"

Jess chuckled. "Okay, come here…" She crossed the room and cradled the Misdreavus in her arms. "So, what's your story?"

The Misdreavus smiled, admittedly glad that she was actually being listened to… "Misdreavus!" she squealed jovially, thanking the others for their attention before she began telling her story, her high-pitched voice coming in short sentences as she spoke. Her life in the forest, the capture, how it was so exciting it felt like a game to her… meeting Marie, her ex-trainer… She was so delighted at first, it felt like they could never be separated! Marie seemed so excited to get a Pokémon for her birthday! But… then… after the party, Marie never really paid any attention to her… they weren't together for very long before Eevee came and Marie had a new best friend… and she just… Did Marie even know she was there anymore…?

The ghost stopped, and she bowed her head at the memory of trying to get her trainer's attention but being shooed away…

"Hey, wait, are you okay…?" Jess tilted her head, noticing her change of expression immediately. The trainer sighed, sitting on the bed and cuddling the ghost against her.

"Mis…" The little ghost murmured a few notes softly.

"Oh Missie… Do you know why she just stopped like that…?"

The Misdreavus only shook her head sadly.

"Did she at least spend any time with you? Or something like that? _Anything _like that?"

The ghost replied, tilting her head up at the trainer and shaking her head again.

The Mismagius let out a soft note, a bitter resentment arising within her. Somehow she wasn't surprised…

"She obviously didn't train you much," Jess noted, not hearing the Mismagius, as she remembered how the Pokédex had gauged Missie's skill level. "How much did she train her other Pokémon?"

Missie replied, and Jess let out a note of thoughtfulness. "She must not have been much of a trainer at all if she hardly trained _anything_…"

Missie shrugged; she wouldn't know, she had no way of telling what other trainers were like.

Jess shook her head, obviously disappointed. "Did she even seemed to _care_ about you?"

For the first time, Missie was silent. But her expression said so much…

Jess sighed; her desolation was all too obvious, and the little ghost was obviously injured by the events… She brought the Misdreavus closer and promised, "I'll never be so careless, and that I'll always try to keep her safe from anything like that happening…"

The Misdreavus blinked up at her, the beginnings of a smile showing on her face.

Jess smiled warmly. "I _know_ it would never be my choice to hurt you, or neglect you – or any of my Pokémon… You guys know that, right?" she asked, directing the last part to every creature in the room.

Every Pokémon responded with an eager cry of agreement.

Everyone except the Mismagius. She blinked, turning the words over in her mind… and the fact that this trainer seemed to not care what species or type or personality they had made her so deeply want to trust her… especially the way she looked beyond all the rumors surrounding some of their species' names and wanted to know what they were like as individuals, the real version of their beings, not the stereotypical versions… but then the memories resurfaced once more. She pushed them back before she let them bring the sentiments into her mind, but they had flared vividly enough to make her wary again and wonder if it was all just gimmick, or worse, a trick, a lie, a trap…

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Jess let out a grunt, struggling to pull the zipper closed over the last centimeter of the bag on the floor, just a little more…! Her fingers strained, the fabric pulled, the bags of dried berries inside crinkled with the pressure…

And it closed so suddenly she barely knew it happened.

The Misdreavus, hovering just above her shoulder, squealed with delight.

"Mission accomplished," Jess beamed, patting the front pocket triumphantly. "Alright, who's got the trophy? Closing this bag after I stock up should be an Olympic sport!"

The Mismagius rolled her eyes, her expression betraying a slight annoyance.

"Mur-murkrow?" the black bird asked, tilting his head in memory – he distinctly remembered one trainer passing through the forest with a radio, listening to the Olympics… and they didn't use trophies…

Jess chuckled. "Right, _medal. _Smart aleck."

The bird bowed – then lost his footing on the window ledge, and he would have ended up on the floor if Pidgeotto hadn't swooped under him and caught him.

"And the hero of the day award goes to Pidgeotto," Jess declared in a sports-announcer tone, applauding as the larger bird landed and Murky rolled onto the bed, his crown feathers sticking out at random angles and his feet sticking up in the air. "And the klutz of the day is Murky," she snickered.

"Krooow," the Murkrow growled, rolling back to his feet and preening fiercely.

Jess barely managed to suppress her laughter as the Mismagius grinned and swooped down, plucking one of the misplaced feathers from his head and feigning innocence from across the room when he looked up.

"Bored much?" Jess asked the ghost, and she shrugged in response.

The trainer laughed. "Okay, we'll just have to find something else to do then. Something long and interesting and exciting…" She put her hand to her chin in thoughtfulness.

"Mur-murkrow," the bird told her, tilting his head in memory.

"Really? Well then I guess we should check the lobby then. Brochures sound like a good way to find something interesting… C'mon guys." And she held out her arms for the birds to light on, Ninetails trotted to her heel, and Missie hovered over her shoulder.

Jess stopped at the threshold. "You coming?" the trainer asked the Mismagius, who shrugged indifferently.

"Misdreavus," the smaller ghost muttered, smiling as she spoke.

The purple ghost blinked, then she nodded and hesitantly followed them out the door.

"See anything interesting?" Jess asked them when hey reached the lobby, browsing a magazine for ads on anything worth traveling for.

"Nine?" The fox nodded to a sign posted on a door, something about the Lost Tower…

"But we went there two years ago," Jess told him, remembering the day she had found a lost Abra… Then her eyes became thoughtful. "But the ghosts there… hm…" She glanced at the Misdreavus and the Mismagius. "What do you two think about the Lost Tower?"

The Misdreavus expelled a note of curiosity, but the Mismagius shook her head.

"Thus the search continues." And she turned back to the magazines, setting down the first and opening a travel magazine. "Oooh, that looks interesting," Jess said, glancing at the table of contents. "A memorial service? That sounds new… wait… Where's that again…?" She flipped to the page, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, Lavender Town! I've heard of that place! Okay, research time." And she pulled her laptop from the bag, sat down, and began typing furiously.

"Mismagius," the ghost murmured, feeling a bit dizzy from trying to follow the trainer's fingers as they flew over the keyboard.

"Murkrow-murkrow?" the black bird asked, sensing her excitement.

"A long time ago, when I was first getting into ghost Pokémon, I read about this tower thing in Lavender Town, it's supposed to be haunted and there's tons of ghosts living there and it sounds awesome… Lavender Tower," she mumbled, skimming the page, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she read on eagerly. "Hey guys, check this out!" she called, her excited tone causing even the Mismagius to look over. "Lavender Tower is the main attraction… memorial services… Built on a graveyard?!"

Besides being a great excuse to get out and see the world, a nice, long trip would be the perfect way to bond with the new team members, and they'd get plenty of good training in as they head through the regions…

"There are even legends about the ghosts that haunt the tower!" she told them eagerly. "Doesn't that sound awesome?!"

The Misdreavus squealed excitedly, her pitch so high it tickled Jess's ears, the Murkrow on her shoulder bobbed his head exuberantly, Ninetails nodded with a note of agreement, Pidgeotto fluttered his wings and let out a cry of excitement, and when Jess turned to see the Mismagius's reaction, she was inspecting the computer screen as if intrigued.

Jess's smile tripled in size. "Wow, everyone seems excited! Alright then, the decision has been made. Next stop: Lavender Town!"

Another chorus of excitement erupted, and Jess, caught up in the moment, threw her hands into the air with the victory fingers sticking straight up. "Now for a _real _adventure!"

The Ninetails looks at her inquisitively; she just finished with her quest for the ghosts…

Jess laughed at his expression. "I guess I just really want to get around the world and see more places and new species of Pokémon that you can't find in Sinnoh without special tools…" Her eyes grew distant and thoughtful as she began planning for the journey. "Alright then, it's settled. We leave at the first sign of dusk!" And then she paused, and she corrected herself. "After dinner of course."

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True to her word, she took her bags and the team to the counter as soon as they finished eating. "Do you happen to have any maps to Lavender Town?" she asked.

"That's quite a long way," the nurse replied.

"I know," Jess replied, feeling a smile twitch up the sides of her mouth. "I don't mind."

"Are you from the Kanto region?" Nurse Joy asked as she sifted through the papers under the counter.

"No, I'm actually from Celestic Town."

"Oh, the town of legends!"

Jess nodded.

"Isn't that where Cynthia's from?"

Jess nodded, this time a proud smile glowing on her face as she let out an "M-_hm!_"

The nurse straightened herself and turned to the trainer. "We don't have any maps that go that far south…But we do have this." And she handed Jess a rolled-up map. "That will take you all the way through the Sinnoh region. You'll have to pick up a map for Kanto along the way."

"That's fine. Thank you, thanks for everything!" And she smiled as she headed out on her most ambitious journey yet.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

On the way back to the familiar forest, just before they reached the treeline, Jess called all of the Pokémon to a halt. "Mismagius, you need a name," she said.

The Mismagius turned to the trainer, an odd tilt in her body suggesting that she thought the trainer was crazy.

Jess laughed. "Well, just calling you 'Mismagius' sounds kinda impersonal, don't you think? I mean… it's like calling me 'human.' And besides, giving you your own special name makes you more… unique. And… it kinda makes you feel like a part of the family."

The Mismagius blinked, wondering if that was a good thing or bad.

Jess began sifting through her options – though she got off to a slow start at first. "Miss, mis, mis... Mis... Missus? No, that's pretty dumb... Mis, um, hm, let's see… Mismagius is the magical Pokémon… mis, magic, miss... magic... Miss Magic – Ew, no, that sounds like something my littlest sister would name you."

The ghost let out a breath of relief; she had been desperately hoping _that _wouldn't be her new name.

Jess tilted her head, taking in the ghost from another angle. "Hm… I think you need something commanding, something powerful and elegant…" She looked at the ghost ponderously.

The ghost stared back with boredom in her gaze. How long was this going to take…?

"Something like you can command magic. That's what you do, right? Pretty much?" She thought, sorted through her dictionary of a vocabulary, discarding words for their simplicity, their clicheness, their silliness… and then a certain phrase came to mind with the word magic.

"Mistress of Magic," Jess said, her eyes lighting with a fire of discovery. "Mistress of magic! That's it. I love it! Your name is Mistress."

A jubilant cry of celebration was let loose by all of the other Pokémon.

"Mistress the Mismagius," Jess said, tasting the word and feeling its texture. "I like it," she decided, the smile on her face tripling in size.

The Mismagius tilted her head, almost confused. This naming ceremony seemed to be worth so much to the trainer… …and how did having a different name make her part of the… 'family'…? Her gaze became inquisitive, her eyes alone almost asking the trainer the questions arising within her… almost.

Her gaze was still too enigmatic to the trainer for her to know what she was thinking.


End file.
